Syria Talks End With Agreement to Observe Cease-Fire
The agreement will not make a real difference on the ground, an analyst says.
— -- Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed to launch a three-way mechanism to ensure compliance with the Syrian cease-fire as talks on the conflict concluded Tuesday in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov read out a statement at the end of Tuesday's session saying that the delegations of Iran, Russia and Turkey decided to “establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the cease-fire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the cease-fire.” He added that the three countries will also continue joint efforts to fight ISIS and the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat Fath al-Sham group, formerly the Nusra Front.
The statement did not specify how the mechanism would work to monitor the cease-fire that began Dec. 30. The agreement is not likely to make a real difference on the ground, said Haid Haid, an associate fellow specializing in the Middle East at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a policy institute based in London.
“As long as there are no independent observers and no clear mechanisms to hold those who are violating the cease-fire accountable, we will continue to see cease-fires violated by the parties,” he told ABC News. “The shaky, ongoing cease-fire has been violated for weeks now, and nothing has been done to stop the perpetrators. This will only give a green light to those perpetrators to continue their violations which in the end will end the cease-fire.”
The two-day meeting between Syrian government officials and rebel fighters had a rough start on Monday.
Speaking to the press, Bashar al-Jaafari, the chief negotiator for the Syrian government, described the rebel delegation as “armed terrorist groups” and called the opening remarks by Mohammad Alloush, the lead rebel negotiator "provocative."
The negotiations in Astana were brokered by Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia and Iran, allies of the Syrian government.
A new round of Syria peace talks is to take place in Geneva on Feb. 8.
The Syrian war has so far gone on nearly six years, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions.
In a speech in Finland on Tuesday, the United Nations' humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien asked for $3.4 billion in funding for an aid plan for some 13.5 million people in urgent need of aid in Syria. Approximately 6.3 million people are internally displaced across Syria, and more than 640,000 people live under siege, he said.
“Syria is one of the largest protection crises of our times,” he said. “Beyond the indiscriminate and targeted attacks against civilians themselves, the essentials of civilian life such as hospitals, schools, markets, electricity and water networks have also not been spared in this conflict.“
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