Japanese Foreign Ministry welcomes Russia-US deal on ceasefire in Syria

TOKYO, February 23. /TASS/. Japan welcomes the agreement between Russia and the United States on ceasefire in Syria, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said. "We welcome [that agreement]. It’s necessary to keep making all efforts to stabilize the situation in Syria," Kishida told journalists. "Japan will keep interacting with other countries on the Syrian issue, mainly in the sphere of humanitarian assistance," he said. A joint statement of Russia and the United States, circulated Monday evening, says the ceasefire regime in Syria will take effect February 27 at 00:00 Damascus Time. The statement underscores that the truce terms cover all parties to the conflict excluding the terrorist groups Daesh (Arab name of Islamic State) and Jabhat al-Nusra (both are banned in Russia), as well as other terrorist organizations recognized as such by the United Nations Security Council. According to UN statistics, fighting between Syrian government troops and militants has killed over 220,000 people and displaced millions since its start in 2011. Gangs of militants making part of various armed formations, the most active of them being the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, fight government troops. Russia’s Aerospace Forces started delivering pinpoint strikes in Syria at facilities of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations, which are banned in Russia, on September 30, 2015, on a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Targets of the Russian aircraft include terrorists’ gasoline tankers and oil refineries. Russia’s aircraft have made thousands of sorties since the start of the operation in Syria. Read more