France, UK, Germany hope for implementation of Syria ceasefire deal
France, UK, Germany hope for implementation of Syria ceasefire deal
Leaders of the US, France, the UK, and Germany expressed hope that the “cessation of hostilities”
deal will come into force soon. President Francois Hollande discussed
the issue with Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaders also said that urgent
measures need to be taken to combat the humanitarian crisis,
particularly in Aleppo. The French presidency said in a statement on
Tuesday that “they would be very vigilant about the commitments
taken on February 11 ... and in particular on the ending of strikes by
Russia and the Syrian regime against moderate opposition groups and
civilians.” The statement comes despite the fact that Russia has
persistently maintained that its air campaign against Islamic State and
other terrorist groups in Syria, launched at the request of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, does not target “moderate” rebels and
scrupulously avoids civilian casualties, pointing out that the West has
yet to provide proof to back their allegations. On February 22 the US
and Russia adopted terms for a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria, which proposes that a ceasefire begin on Saturday at midnight Damascus time.