Syrian president voices support for ceasefire in telephone call with President Putin, Kremlin says.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has assured Russian President Vladimir Putin of his readiness to respect a ceasefire deal brokered by Moscow and Washington, the Kremlin said.
“A phone call took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad,” the Kremlin said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In particular, (Assad) confirmed the readiness of the Syrian government to facilitate the establishment of a ceasefire.”
Assad described the ceasefire as an “important step toward a political resolution” for Syria’s civil war, the Kremlin said in the statement on its website.
However, Putin and Assad emphasised the need to continue an “uncompromised fight” against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the al-Nusra Front and other groups “which are included in the respective list of the United Nations Security Council”, the Kremlin said.
The Syrian opposition has yet to decide whether it will commit to the US-Russian plan to stop fighting in Syria on Saturday, chief opposition negotiator Mohamad Alloush told Orient News on Wednesday.
Alloush said the opposition bloc, known as the High Negotiations Committee, which he is a member of, would give the final answer.
Alloush heads the political office of the Jaish al-Islam rebel group, one of the biggest rebel factions.
Source: ALJAZEERA
