Obama and Putin are likely to discuss the terms of the deal in the coming days.
- Kerry says US and Russia agree provisional ceasefire deal
- Obama and Putin to talk in coming days
- Deal excludes operations against “terrorist organisations” – Moscow
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The US secretary of state says he and his Russian counterpart have reached a provisional agreement on another ceasefire deal for Syria.
#UPDATE: 'Provisional agreement' on terms of Syria ceasefire reached with Russia: Kerry https://t.co/E56K8lsKO0 pic.twitter.com/4XnHxT5iNj
— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 21, 2016
Kerry: provisional ceasefire agreement reached in Syria's war, “There is a stark choice for everybody here” https://t.co/V62od4zbtu
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 21, 2016
Speaking while on a visit to Jordan, John Kerry said he has spoken to Sergei Lavrov.
“In the conversation that we had, we have reached a provisional agreement on the terms of a cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days.”
“It is not yet done, and I anticipate that Presidents Obama and Putin may well speak somewhere in the next days in order to try and complete this task.”
He added that US President Barack Obama will be speaking to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the coming days to finalise the terms of the agreement.
Lavrov, Kerry note need of military coordination to push forward Syria peace process https://t.co/Q7CFcfsBB9 pic.twitter.com/MDOir09YFh
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 21, 2016
In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry insisted the discussions concern ceasefire conditions and exclude operations against organisations “recognised as terrorist by the UN Security Council.”
The Munich agreement
John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov are the principal actors behind what has come to be known as the Munich agreement.
Representatives of the Quartet met at the Munich Security Conference 2016. Their statement:https://t.co/GTsKM5Mv9I | https://t.co/PfpIQ10Po9
— US Mission to the EU (@US2EU) February 16, 2016
17 countries and three multilateral organisations met in the German city on the 11th and 12th of February.
They agreed to end hostilities in Syria within a week, setting the date for the 19th of February.
Critics say that while those hopes came to nothing, the indication of a fresh agreement is a hopeful sign.
What they are saying
“We have reached a provisional agreement in principle on the terms of a cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days.” – US Secretary of State John Kerry.