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UP FRONTTuesday 23 February 2016
US, Russia agree on Syria cease-fire plan; questions remain
MAEVA BAMBUCK
BRADLEY KLAPPER
Associated Press
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) —
The United States and Rus-
sia have agreed on a new
cease-fire for Syria that will killed more than 250,000
take effect Saturday, even
as major questions over en-
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during his speech with a special message after his tele-
phone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside
Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, says
the cease-fire reached by the United States and Russia and set to begin at midnight Saturday in
Syria gives the two world powers the task of making sure that everyone else abides by it, too.
forcing and responding to
violations of the truce were
left unresolved. Syria’s war-
ring government and reb-
els still need to accept the
deal.
The timeline for a hoped-for
breakthrough comes after
the former Cold War foes,
backing opposing sides in
the conflict, said they final- five-page plan released by
US Officials:
North Korea offered peace talks; bailed over nukes we will be working to se-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
White House said Monday
that North Korea sought to
discuss a peace treaty but
pulled away after the U.S.
insisted denuclearization
be part of the discussions.
Spokesman Josh Earnest
said the U.S. considered a
proposal from the North Ko-
rea, which has long sought
a peace treaty with Wash-
ington. The 1950-53 Korean
War ended with an armi-
stice, not a peace treaty,
and the U.S. retains 28,500
troops in South Korea as a
ized the details of a “cessa- the U.S. State Department
tion of hostilities” between
President Bashar Assad’s
government and armed
opposition groups after five
years of violence that has
people.
The truce will not cover the
(Mikhail Klimentyev/ Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Islamic State group, the al-
Qaida-linked Nusra Front
and any other militias des-
ignated as terrorist organi-
zations by the U.N. Security
Council. But where in Syria
the fighting must stop and
where counterterrorism op-
erations can continue must
still be addressed. And the
deterrent against the North.
The diplomatic discus-
sions took place prior
to North Korea’s recent
nuclear test and rocket
launch that have further
strained relations. Congress
has since passed and Presi-
dent Barack Obama has
signed additional sanctions
on North Korea. The U.S.,
China and others are also
considering U.N. sanctions.
“There was interest ex-
pressed by the North Kore-
ans in discussing a peace
treaty,” Earnest told a news
in northern Syria.
leaves open how breach- Obama welcomed the
es of the cease-fire will be agreement in the call with
identified or punished. Putin, which the White
The announcement came House said was arranged
after Presidents Barack at Russia’s request. The
Obama and Vladimir Pu- White House said Obama
tin spoke by telephone emphasized the key is to
Monday, capping weeks ensure that Syria’s gov-
ernment and opposition
groups faithfully implement
the deal.
“This is going to be difficult backed Syrian opposition
to implement,” said White
House spokesman Josh Ear-
nest. “We know there are a
lot of obstacles, and there
are sure to be some set-
backs.”
Putin called the agreement
a “last real chance to put
an end to the many years
of bloodshed and vio-
lence.” Speaking on Rus-
sian television, he said Mos-
cow would work with the
Syrian government, and
expects Washington to do
the same with the opposi-
tion groups that it supports.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon also welcomed
the agreement, calling it
“a long-awaited signal of
hope to the Syrian people.”
But he warned that much
work lies ahead for its im-
plementation.
Hours after the agreement
was announced, Assad
issued a decree setting
parliamentary elections
for April 13. A U.N. Security
Council resolution adopted
in December calls for par-
liamentary and presidential
elections to be held dur-
ing an 18-month transition
period that would end the
5-year-old conflict in Syria.
of intense diplomacy to
stem the violence so that
Assad’s government and
“moderate” rebel forces
might return to peace talks
in Geneva. A first round
of indirect discussions col-
lapsed almost immediately
this month amid a mas-
sive government offensive
backed by Russian airstrikes
conference. “We consid- nuclear program. Talks on
ered their proposal, but the nuclear issue haven’t
also made clear that denu- gotten anywhere for years.
clearization had to be part International aid-for-disar-
of any discussions. The truth mament negotiations that
is that the North Koreans re- were hosted by China have
jected that response.” been stalled since 2008.
“Those discussions were The international response
entirely consistent with the to North Korea’s Jan. 6 nu-
longstanding policy that clear test and Feb. 7 rocket
the Obama administration launch will be discussed
has put forward,” Earnest when Secretary of State
said. The U.S. previously John Kerry meets Tuesday
has expressed openness with Chinese Foreign Minis-
to peace talks but said ter Wang Yi in Washington,
that Pyongyang would State Department spokes-
first have to abandon its man Mark Toner said.q
However, the country was
due for parliament elec-
tions anyway, as the cur-
rent parliament’s four-year
term expires in May.
The leader of a Saudi-
alliance, meanwhile, said
in a statement that rebel
factions had agreed “in
principle” to an interna-
tionally mediated tempo-
rary truce. Riad Hijab did
not elaborate but urged
Russia, Iran and the Assad
government to end at-
tacks, lift blockades and
release prisoners held in
Syria.Syrian officials said the
government was ready to
take part in a truce as long
as it is not used by militants
to reinforce their positions.
Both sides have until Fri-
day to formally accept the
plan. Even if the cease-fire
takes hold, fighting will by
no means halt.
Russia will surely press on
with an air campaign that
it insists is targeting terror-
ists but which the U.S. and
its partners say is mainly kill-
ing moderate rebels and
civilians. While IS tries to
expand its self-proclaimed
caliphate in Syria and
neighboring Iraq, Nusra is
unlikely to end its effort to
overthrow Assad. The Kurds
have been fighting IS, even
as they face attacks from
America’s NATO ally, Tur-
key. And Assad has his own
history of broken promises
when it comes to military
action.
All of these dynamics make
the truce hard to maintain.
“We are all aware of the
significant challenges
ahead,” U.S. Secretary
of State John Kerry said.
“Over the coming days,
cure commitments from
key parties that they will
abide by the terms.”
Kerry said the cessation
could lead to less violence,
expanded humanitarian
deliveries and help support
the U.S. goal of a “politi-
cal transition to a govern-
ment that is responsive to
the desires of the Syrian
people.” Like previous U.S.-
Russian statements, how-
ever, Monday’s document
says nothing about Assad’s
future — perhaps the big-
gest stumbling block to a
sustained peace.q