Kremlin: Syria ceasefire goes into effect

MOSCOW, February 29. /TASS/. The Syria ceasefire is in effect, although this process is not easy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. "The heads of state - the presidents of Russia and the United States - stressed from the very beginning that the road to the really stable truce would not be easy and could not be easy by definition due to the complex situation in the region," the spokesman said. But "it is important that the agreement [on the truce] has been reached and now the main steps have been taken in compliance with the agreement reached," the presidential spokesman said. "The process is under way and it was clear from the outset that it wouldn’t proceed easily," Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman referred to the reports by the military that "the truce has come into force." Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama adopted a statement on February 22 on a ceasefire in Syria from February 27. Both countries undertook to influence the Syrian political forces close to them to achieve truce in Syria. The truce regime does not apply to the groupings recognized by the United Nations as terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (both outlawed in Russia). In the follow-up of the joint statement by the Russian and US leaders, a special Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Sides was set up at Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia. Currently, 61 Russian officers are working at the Center. The Center aims to assist armed groupings in Syria in concluding ceasefire agreements, maintain the truce regime, control its observance and organize the delivery of humanitarian cargoes to civilians. Read more