ISLAMABAD – Russia requested the UN Security Council endorse a ceasefirefor Syria, but the United States, a veto-wielding power, refused and calledthe truce “premature.” Questions remain on how the ceasefire will beenforced.
[image: US rejects Russian plan for Syria ceasefire at UN Security Council]
Russia and Turkey agreed on a ceasefire for Syrialink,but the agreement failed to get the backing of the UN Security Council onFriday. A ceasefire endorsement proposed by Russia was rejected when theUnited States, which is one of the five countries with veto power on theCouncil.
Russian ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, had asked the other 14Security Council members to adopt the agreement, but the United Statesrejected it saying it and called the deal “premature.” Some Europeannations welcomed the proposal but wanted to amend the statement.
At midnight Friday local time, a Turkey-Russia brokered ceasefire went intoeffect in Idlib, Syria. The agreement looks to be holding so far, ifshakily.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putinagreed to the deal during talks in Moscow on Thursday, after a Turkishoffensive into northwestern Syria against the Syrian regime dramaticallyescalated fighting in Idlib province this week.
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The ceasefire deal will largely halt the warfare in Idlib, but it alsoconcedes territorial gains for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who hasbeen waging a bloody campaign to retake Idlib, the last major outpost heldby opposition fighters in Syria.
The deal establishes a security corridor six kilometers to the north andsouth of the M4, a key east-west roadway that, along with the M5,effectively reconnects the major cities under the Syrian regime’s control.Turkey and Russia also agreed to conduct joint patrols in this area,starting March 15.
The deal is a win for both Assad and Russia, and a major loss for Turkeyand the anti-Syrian regime rebels in Idlib, which oppose Assad. (Islamistextremist groups tied to al-Qaeda, specifically Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, orHTS, are also active in the area.) Turkey was basically forced to acceptthe reality of Assad’s gains in Idlib, which includes those strategichighways.
