(Newswire.net — September 10, 2016) — Russia and the US have agreed on a new ceasefire plan for Syria, Russia Today reports.
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry have agreed that they should focus on a common enemy – Al-Qaida and the IS terrorists. The idea of fighting a common enemy was always present, however, only now have the two parties agreed.
Some of the reasons for which the previous negotiations had failed is that there was a thin line between Syrian rebels backed by the US and Al-Qaida terrorists operating in the area. Actually, for Moscow, the Al-Nusra front financed by Saudi Arabia and rebels backed by the US were two sides of the same coin, which is Al-Qaida.
On the other side, the US sees no difference between Assad’s totalitarian regime and terrorists, backing the “moderate opposition”.
So, which party changed its point of view? None. However, the major steps toward ending the war in Syria have been made, showing that Russia and the US are the ones ‘holding the key.’
After some 13 hours of talks, Kerry announced at a press conference that the two have agreed on a comprehensive approach to Syrian reconciliation. He said that it was agreed that Syrian government forces will not carry out any combat missions against rebels.
Asked about Al-Nusra’s affiliation with the “moderate opposition,” Kerry stressed “going on Al-Nusra is not a concession to anybody” but “is profoundly in the interests of the US.”
The US Secretary of State and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov have agreed on creating a Russian-US Joint Implementation Centre (JIG) that provide “delineation of territories controlled by Al-Nusra and opposition groups in the area of active hostilities.”
According to Lavrov, the first step is a 7 day ceasefire that comes into effect on September 12th.
“Despite the mistrust and attempt to disrupt what we have agreed upon, we managed to work out a package of documents, there are five of them,” Lavrov said.
The documents, however, will not be accessible to the public due sensitive information on both sides.
According to political analyst Ammar Waqqaf, the US ditching Al-Nusra is something that may never happen. He emphasizes Kerry’s remark that “going on Al-Nusra” was never a negotiating point. Waqqaf said that, on the other hand, “Americans knew that there would be no deal with Russia unless Jabhat Al-Nusra is called Jabhat Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda and that they are separate [from moderate rebels].”
The agreement came after Assad’s military, backed by Russian air strikes, threatened to annihilate the rebels on the battleground. Saved ‘by the bell’, the moderate opposition just got a chance to survive and continue to defend US national interests in Syria.