US, Russia seal Syria cease-fire, new military partnership

[rooster59]

US, Russia seal Syria cease-fire, new military partnership

BRADLEY KLAPPER, Associated Press
JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press

 

GENEVA (AP) — The United States and Russia early Saturday announced a breakthrough agreement on Syria that foresees a nationwide cease-fire starting next Monday, followed a week later by an unlikely new military partnership between the rival governments targeting the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said shortly after midnight that the plan could reduce violence in Syria and lead to a long-sought political transition, ending more than five years of bloodshed. He called the deal a potential "turning point" in a conflict that has killed as many as 500,000 people, if complied with by Syria's Russian-backed government and U.S.-supported rebel groups.

 

The cease-fire begins at sundown Sept. 12, Kerry said, coinciding with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

 

Kerry's negotiating partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, confirmed the agreement and said it could help expand the counterterrorism fight and aid deliveries to Syrian civilians. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad's government was prepared to comply.

 

"This is just the beginning of our new relations," Lavrov said.

 

The deal culminates months of frenetic diplomacy that included four meetings between Kerry and Lavrov since Aug. 26, and a lengthy face-to-face in China between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. The arrangement hinges on Moscow pressuring Assad's government to halt all offensive operations against Syria's armed opposition and civilian areas. Washington must persuade "moderate" rebels to break ranks with the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, and other extremist groups.

 

Both sides have failed to deliver their ends of the bargain over several previous truces.

 

But the new arrangement goes further by promising a new U.S.-Russian counterterrorism alliance, only a year after Obama chastised Putin for a military intervention that U.S. officials said was mainly designed to keep Assad in power and target more moderate anti-Assad forces.

 

Russia, in response, has chafed at America's financial and military assistance to groups that have intermingled with the Nusra Front on the battlefield.

 

Kerry said it would be "wise" for opposition forces to separate completely from Nusra, a statement Lavrov hailed.

 

"Going after Nusra is not a concession to anybody," Kerry said. "It is profoundly in the interests of the United States."

 

The military deal would go into effect after both sides abide by the truce for a week and allow unimpeded humanitarian deliveries. Then, the U.S. and Russia would begin intelligence sharing and targeting coordination, while Assad's forces would no longer be permitted to target Nusra any longer; they would be restricted to operations against the Islamic State.

 

The proposed level of U.S.-Russian interaction has upset several leading national security officials in Washington, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper, and Kerry only appeared at the news conference after several hours of internal U.S. discussions.

 

At one point, Lavrov said he was considering "calling it a day" on talks, expressing frustration with what he described as an hours-long wait for a U.S. response. He then presented journalists with several boxes of pizza, saying, "This is from the U.S. delegation," and two bottles of vodka, adding, "This is from the Russian delegation."

 

The Geneva negotiating session, which last more than 13 hours, underscored the complexity of a conflict that includes myriad militant groups, shifting alliances and the rival interests of the U.S. and Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Turkey and the Kurds.

 

Getting Assad's government and rebel groups to comply with the deal may now be more difficult as fighting rages around the divided city of Aleppo, Syria's most populous and the new focus of a war that has killed as many as 500,000 people.

 

Assad's government appeared to tighten its siege of the former Syrian commercial hub in the last several days, seizing several key transit points. Forty days of fighting in Aleppo has killed nearly 700 civilians, including 160 children, according to a Syrian human rights group. Volunteer first responders said they pulled the bodies of nine people, including four children, from rubble following air raids Friday on a rebel-held area.

 

Kerry outlined several steps the government and rebels would have to take. They must now pull back from demilitarized zones, and allow civilian traffic and humanitarian deliveries.

 

But as with previous blueprints for peace, Saturday's plan appears to lack enforcement mechanisms. Russia could, in theory, threaten to act against rebel groups that break the deal. But if Assad bombs his opponents, the U.S. is unlikely to take any action against him given Obama's longstanding opposition to entering the civil war.

 

In addition to those killed, Syria's conflict has chased millions of people from their homes, contributing to Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II. Amid the chaos of fighting between Syria's government and rebels, the Islamic State group has emerged as a global terror threat.

 

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-09-10

[CharlieK]

I wonder what Turkey will do? Surely they will upset any agreement, Erdogan won't be happy!

 

[craigt3365]

Fantastic news!  Hopefully, this will work out!

[williamgeorgeallen]

can cut the country in half and each bomb their own half so there are less overlaps. are they going to oppose or support assad?

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

can cut the country in half and each bomb their own half so there are less overlaps. are they going to oppose or support assad?

Read the article.

[williamgeorgeallen]

10 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Read the article.

read it again. could not see anything about america still wanting to get rid of assad or now allowing him to stay.

[Bannoi]

It would be fantastic if Russia and the USA could really work together lets all be friends bring back flower power

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"This is just the beginning of our new relations," Lavrov said.

I'd thought that the Russians would wait until Trump becomes POTUS. Putin gets Syria and Trump gets headlines in the  Muzykalnaya Pravda  and maybe a book deal.

But maybe Putin knows better than speculating.

 

[Dumbastheycome]

 Yeah ! sure!

[Morch]

13 hours ago, CharlieK said:

I wonder what Turkey will do? Surely they will upset any agreement, Erdogan won't be happy!

 

 

Why would they?

 

As the OP relates, there is no enforcement mechanism for the agreement. Turkey (or Russia ) could still carry out attacks against whomever as long as they claim the target to be IS.  In essence, the agreement sounds pretty much like previous understandings.

 

Also this:

 

Turkey insists on no-fly zone in Syria, NATO non-committal

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-insists-on-no-fly-zone-in-syria-nato-non-committal/2016/09/09/16d422cc-769f-11e6-9781-49e591781754_story.html

 

 

[craigt3365]

Doesn't seem there's much interest from Russia in a cease fire.

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/syria-war-showroom-russian-arms-sales-160406135130398.html

 

Quote

Moscow's arms exports hit a record $14.5bn in 2015 with orders surging to $56bn, according to President Putin.

 

[MisterTee]

Good to see some moves toward cooperation.

America's relations with Russia carry greater consequence for long-term American interests than anything going on in the Middle East.

The unspoken truth is that the Middle East would hardly count were it not for Israel, oil, and terrorism. And the last is in good part a derivative of what they have done in regard to the first two.

[Credo]

Ceasefires seldom work until there isn't much left to fight over and not many people left to actually do the fighting.   Otherwise, they just tend to be a loll in the conflict where everyone can regroup, rearm and get ready for the next round.

 

I do hope this succeeds, but I don't hold out a lot of hope.   There are just too many players involved with too many different agendas.    

[CharlieK]

On 9/10/2016 at 8:09 PM, Morch said:

 

Why would they?

 

As the OP relates, there is no enforcement mechanism for the agreement. Turkey (or Russia ) could still carry out attacks against whomever as long as they claim the target to be IS.  In essence, the agreement sounds pretty much like previous understandings.

 

Also this:

 

Turkey insists on no-fly zone in Syria, NATO non-committal

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-insists-on-no-fly-zone-in-syria-nato-non-committal/2016/09/09/16d422cc-769f-11e6-9781-49e591781754_story.html

 

 

 

Turkey also insists that it will continue its fight against IS, or should I say the Kurds. But agree about the ceasefire, easily broken and probably will be. It will never happen but should Russia and the US agree to put boots on the ground maybe together they could sort out the mess that is Syria. The US and Turkey would have to accept Assad  isn't going anywhere soon.

[Mosha]

Turkey only wants him out because he's the wrong sort of muslin. Same goes for the other non shia muslin countries.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk

[craigt3365]

29 minutes ago, Mosha said:

Turkey only wants him out because he's the wrong sort of muslin. Same goes for the other non shia muslin countries.

Sent from my SMART_4G_Speedy_5inch using Tapatalk
 

Not 100% true.  It is a religious war.  So, some want Assad to say, others (muslim countries) want him out.  Saudi Arabia vs. Iran at it's worst.

[thaihome]

In a three sided war, were two supporters of two of the three opposing factions agree to work together against the third is what one could call tenuous at best. Until the issue of Assad is agreed by the outside powers, this sh*t storm will continue.  Can't imagine Saudi and Iran ever agreeing on that.

 

Never, ever, should any significant US force, other then the few special ops spotters there already, step foot in Syria. In fact, I think the special ops folks there should be pulled out. Do drone strikes all day long if you can get reliable intelligence, but no US body bags, please. That's already been tried. 

TH