Syrian
Army soldiers stand outside a building formerly used as a police station by
militants, in the town of Saraqib in the northwestern Idlib Province on March
6, 2020, after government forces gained control over it. (Photo by AFP)
Source:
Press TV
The
United States reportedly blocks adoption of a United Nations Security Council
statement supporting a ceasefire agreed between Russia and Turkey in Syria’s
northwestern province of Idlib, although the deal has led to direly-needed
de-escalation in the province.
Diplomats
cited by AFP said the US stonewalled the measure that Russia's UN Ambassador to
the UN Vassily Nebenzia had asked the other 14 member states to adopt on
Friday, with Washington calling it "premature."
The
US’s standpoint was echoed by Britain and Germany. "There are a lot of
questions about how it will work in practice, who will monitor it,"
remarked British Ambassador Karen Pierce, while her German counterpart
Christoph Heusgen said, "We have to see if this will work."
Russia
and Turkey’s presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had announced the truce that took force in Idlib at 00:01 a.m Friday, after
three hours of face-to-face talks in Moscow on Thursday.
The
deal was clinched amid a pressing need for pacification in Idlib, where Turkish
violations had brought about an unwarranted flare-up of already high levels of
deadly violence.
The
escalation came when Turkish forces that are tasked with manning a number of
observation posts in Syria to supposedly contribute to de-escalation efforts,
ventured outside the areas assigned to the posts, engaging with the Syrian
military.
The
province, though, began experiencing “calm” after the truce that allowed the
Syrian government to secure two strategic routes running through it, reports by
AFP and the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based
monitor, showed.
Putin,
Assad discuss Syria ceasefire
Meanwhile,
Putin told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a phone call that the truce
would stabilize the situation in Idlib, the Kremlin said.
"Bashar
al-Assad rated the outcome of the talks between the leaders of Russia and
Turkey highly and expressed his gratitude to Russia's president for supporting
the fight against terrorist groups," the Kremlin statement said.
Idlib
contains the largest remaining concentrations of militants and Takfiri
terrorists in Syria, who have fled there from concerted anti-terror drive by
Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran. Russia lends aerial support to the
Syrian Army’s operations, while Iran provides it with military advisory
assistance.
Contrary
to the Russian and Iranian involvement that came after Syria’s relevant requests,
the US and its allies maintain an illegal presence in the Arab country under
the pretext of confronting Daesh. Syria and its allies that defeated the
Takfiri terror group back in 2017 strongly oppose the American-led interference
for its complete lack of legitimacy and justification.
Diplomats,
meanwhile, told AFP that Moscow had signaled it could oppose endorsement of a
recently-signed agreement between the US and the Afghan militant group of
Taliban at the Security Council following the US’s opposition to the Syria
ceasefire.
Syrian
Army Win Battle Against Erdogan Forces In Idlib, But War Is Far From Over
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