Moscow says it wants the United Nations to be involved in peace talks between Damascus and rebels in Kazakhstan in January.
Russia is pushing for a UN Security Council vote Saturday to support the ceasefire it helped broker in Syria, where the truce remained largely intact on its second day despite sporadic clashes.
Moscow
says it wants the United Nations to be involved in peace talks between
Damascus and rebels in Kazakhstan in January, although the UN is
negotiating its own separate peace efforts.
Rebel supporter Turkey and key regime
ally Russia, which brokered the truce, say the talks in the Kazakh
capital Astana aim to supplement UN-backed peace efforts, rather than
replace them.
They want to involve regional players like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan.
Key moments in the Syrian conflict(AFP)
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin voiced
hope that the council would vote Saturday on the draft resolution --
which also endorses the planned talks in Kazakhstan -- "and adopt it
unanimously".
Diplomats however, said they did not see
how a quick UN weekend vote could occur as the resolution needed to be
"seriously studied" and hinted Russia might be hard-pressed to muster
the nine votes needed for it to pass.
Washington is conspicuously absent from
the new process, but Moscow has said it hoped to bring US
President-elect Donald Trump's administration on board once he takes
office in January.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
a British-based monitor of the war, said that most of the country
remained calm on Saturday.
But limited clashes continued in some
areas including Wadi Barada near Damascus and the southern city of Daraa
where one opposition fighter was killed.
Rebels in Wadi Barada have cut water supplies to the capital leaving four million people without water.
A boy
sells vegetables in the northwestern city of Idlib on December 30, 2016
as a truce brokered by Russia and Turkey came into effect(AFP)
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said
that five rebel fighters were killed on Friday in the opposition
bastion of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus and in Wadi Barada where
helicopters carried out raids on rebel positions.
A civilian was also killed by regime sniper fire in Eastern Ghouta while another died in shelling in Wadi Barada, he said.
The forces in Wadi Barada include former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, which Syria's government says is excluded from the ceasefire.
The Observatory also reported at least
16 government air strikes across several areas in Hama province in
central Syria, with no casualties.
Tired of war
Damascus
called the ceasefire deal a "real opportunity" to find a political
solution to Syria's war, which has killed more than 310,000 people since
it began in March 2011(AFP)
In rebel-held Idlib province, however, it was quiet and residents expressed hope for respite from the bloody conflict.
"I support the ceasefire... and I
support its continuation," said 31-year-old Ahmed Astify. "Everyone,
whether (they are) rebels or regular people, is tired," he added.
Mohammed, 28, said: "We hope that this will lead to the end of the war."
Syria's government and its ally Iran both welcomed the ceasefire deal.
Damascus called it a "real opportunity"
to find a political solution to the war, which has killed more than
310,000 people since it began in March 2011 with protests against the
regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Despite being left out of the process, Washington described the truce as "positive".
Analysts were cautious but said the involvement of Russia, Iran and Turkey could be important.
Residents
buy petrol on a street in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on
December 30, 2016 as a truce brokered by Russia and Turkey came into
effect(AFP)
Sam Heller, fellow at The Century
Foundation, said there was "real interest and urgency" from Moscow and
Ankara, but expressed doubts about whether Tehran and Damascus were on
board.
"All indications are that Iran and the regime want to continue towards a military conclusion," he said.
He said renewed fighting in Wadi Barada or Eastern Ghouta could pose major threats to the truce.
Talks in Astana
Russian President Vladimir Putin said
Friday he would now reduce Moscow's military contingent in Syria, which
has been fighting to bolster the government since last year.
But he added Russia would continue to fight "terrorism" and maintain its support for the government.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
also said Ankara would continue the operation it began in August
targeting the Islamic State group and Kurdish fighters.
Despite backing opposite sides in the
conflict, Turkey and Russia have worked increasingly closely on Syria,
brokering a deal this month to allow the evacuation of tens of thousands
of civilians and rebel fighters from Aleppo.
Their ceasefire deal calls for
negotiations over a political solution to end the conflict that has
killed more than 310,000 people and forced millions to flee.
UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura has
said he hoped the agreement would "pave the way for productive talks",
but also reiterated he wants negotiations mediated by his office to
continue next year.
The council held closed-door
consultations on the text early Friday and Russia later amended the
draft at the request of several member states.
The latest draft of the resolution, a copy of which was seen by AFP, includes a reference to the talks being led by de Mistura.
SOURCE: Pulse.ng
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