War on terror shouldn’t be affected by ceasefire: Syria

Putin previously spoke to the Saudi King on February 19.

(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar). Clouds hover over the capital city of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016.

That, explains CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer, essentially gives the Syrian forces free reign to continue attacking anyone they want – including groups backed by the U.S.

“In particular, (Assad) confirmed the readiness of the Syrian government to facilitate the establishment of a ceasefire”, it said in a statement.

He, however, said the rebels fighting inside Daraya are with the al-Nusra Front, which is excluded from the cessation of hostilities deal along with the Islamic State (IS) group, as both designated as terrorist groups by the UN.

The United Nations hopes the planned cessation of hostilities will provide a breathing space for Syrian peace talks to resume.

The Syrian military reserved the right to “respond to any breach by these groups against Syrian citizens or against its armed forces”, the statement added. All said they would keep fighting against the extremists.

But Damascus is warning that there will be “violations” from other groups. “In this case, Russian Federation and the United States are using their influence, their potential to bring parties with diametrically opposed views on settlement closer”, Peskov told reporters. It will meet for the first time on Friday and be chaired jointly by Russian Federation and the United States.

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he doesn’t think the U.S.-Russia accord will hold.

The agreement does not apply to jihadists such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group and Al-Nusra Front, putting up major hurdles to how it can be implemented on Syria’s complex battlefield. Also unresolved are how exactly breaches in the truce would be dealt with. He continued to insist that Assad could not remain leader because he was not acceptable to those that have fought him the past four years.

The timeline for a hoped-for breakthrough came after the U.S. and Russian Federation – backing opposing sides in the conflict – said late on Monday they had finalised the details of a “cessation of hostilities” between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and armed opposition groups.

US Ambassador Samantha Power acknowledged that there was “some scepticism” as to whether the ceasefire will take hold, but said it offered the “best chance to reduce the violence”.