What You Need to Know About the Syria Cease-Fire Deal

The news agency AFP quoted Assad as saying he would continue to fight terrorism while talks took place.

But by allowing fighting to rage on for at least another week, it gives the Damascus government and its Russian allies time to press on with an offensive that has transformed the conflict since the start of February.

They are also close to sealing the Turkish border, lifeline of rebel territory for years.

Assad’s enemies have been supplying vetted rebel groups with weapons via a Turkey-based operations centre.

Russia said on Saturday a ceasefire deal for Syria agreed by major powers was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian government forces backed by further Russian airstrikes gained more ground against rebels near Aleppo.

“Unfortunately”, Zarif said, “the Saudis have had the illusion that, backed by their Western ally, they could push Iran out of the equation in the region”.

Part two of Amanpour’s interview with the Saudi foreign minister, on the war in Yemen and human rights in Saudi Arabia, airs next week.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference hours after his Saudi counterpart addressed the event, Zarif had a simple message: “We need to work together”.

After four years of carnage in Syria, the bar for good news is so low that the word “cease-fire” sounded encouraging when Secretary of State John Kerry announced early Friday in Germany that world powers had reached an agreement meant to pause fighting in the conflict.

During a visit to the Dutch capital The Hague, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said a new wave of migrants numbering as much as 60,000 had massed on the Turkish border. Nusra fighters often operate in areas where other rebel groups are also active.

A statement from the office of UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said guaranteed access from the warring sides to Syria’s besieged areas was the key first step.

The U.N. commission alleged mass deaths that amounted to “a crime against humanity”, but Assad said he was “not concerned about these threats or these allegations”. “Air strikes of Russian planes against different opposition groups in Syria have actually undermined the efforts to reach a negotiated, peaceful solution”, he said.

Ursula von der Leyen said at a security conference in Munich that pictures of the destruction in Syria make it clear that the country will need people with “very varied capabilities” to rebuild it. She noted Friday that the military offers training to craftspeople, technicians, logisticians and others.

Instead, it has sought to focus more on combating Isis jihadists, who have taken over swathes of Syria and Iraq, than getting involved in the civil war between the regime and opposition forces.

Gulf states that want Assad gone from power have said they would be willing to send in troops as part of any U.S.-led ground attack against ISIL.

“We believe there is nothing in our region that would exclude Iran and Saudi Arabia working together for a better future for all of us”, he said.

Saudi Arabia has expressed readiness to deploy special forces in Syria if the US-led coalition decides to deploy ground troops.