Fight Al-Nusra, no strikes on rebels, Aleppo relief: Kerry & Lavrov agree new Syria ceasefire plan

14:55, 10 September 2016

MOSCOW. KAZINFORM Russia and the US have agreed on a new ceasefire plan on Syria that includes a ban on government airstrikes in certain areas and cooperation on strikes against jihadists, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov announced after the marathon talks with the US's John Kerry.

Opening the much-awaited press conference after some 13 hours of talks, Kerry said that the two have agreed on a comprehensive approach to Syrian reconciliation. He called "on every Syrian stakeholder to support the plan that the United States and Russia have reached, to ... bring this catastrophic conflict to the quickest possible end through a political process."

According to Kerry, the plan is to ensure that Syrian government forces will not carry out combat missions where the so-called moderate opposition is present.

Speaking of fight against Al-Nusra and its efforts to blend with moderate rebels, Kerry stressed “going on Al-Nusra is not a concession to anybody” but “is profoundly in the interests of the US.”Kerry also outlined an establishment of the Russian-US Joint Implementation Centre (JIG) that would serve the purpose of“delineation of territories controlled by Al-Nusra and opposition groups in the area of active hostilities."

Taking the floor, the Russian FM confirmed that Russia and US had agreed to coordinate airstrikes in Syria, “provided there is a sustained period of reduced violence.”

The first step toward the implementation of this clause will be a 48-hour ceasefire in Syria, Lavrov said.

Lavrov elaborated that the ceasefire comes into effect on September 12 and should last for at least seven days.

“After the ceasefire regime will be in effect for seven days, we will establish an implementation centre, in which the military and the representatives of Russian and US intelligence will handle practical issues, separating terrorists and opposition,” he added.