Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John Kerry: "If this arrangement holds then we will see a significant reduction in violence across Syria"

Russia and the US have agreed to co-ordinate air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria, part of a detailed agreement to reduce the violence there.

The plan will begin with a "cessation of hostilities" from sunset on Monday. Syrian forces will end combat missions in specified opposition-held areas.

Russia and the US will then establish a joint centre to combat jihadist groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS).

A Syrian opposition coalition has cautiously welcomed the agreement.

"We hope this will be the beginning of the end of the civilians' ordeal," said Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the High Negotiations Committee.

"We welcome the deal if it is going to be enforced."

In other reaction:

Turkey welcomed the plan, and said aid needed to reach those in need "from the first day"

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged the UN to "prepare a proposal for political transition" in Syria

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Russia to "use all its influence" to ensure the Syrian government "delivers on its obligations"

Aid access

The announcement follows talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

The plan would need both the Assad government and opposition "to meet their obligations", Mr Kerry said.

The opposition had indicated it was prepared to comply with the plan, he said, provided the Syrian government "shows it is serious".

Mr Lavrov said Russia had informed the Syrian government about the arrangements and the Syrian government was "ready to fulfil them".

Mr Kerry said the cessation of hostilities also involved humanitarian access to besieged areas, including Aleppo.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aleppo: Key battleground in Syria's civil war

Seven days after the start of the cessation of hostilities, Russia and the US will establish a "joint implementation centre" to fight IS and another main group, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham used to be known as the Nusra Front but changed its name in June and announced it was cutting ties with al-Qaeda.

Mr Lavrov said the joint implementation centre would allow Russian and US forces to "separate the terrorists from the moderate opposition".

"We have agreed on the areas where such co-ordinated strikes would be taking place, and in those areas, on neutral agreement shared by the Syrian government as well, only the Russian and US air force will be functional," he said.

But Mr Lavrov added that "the Syrian air force will be functional in other areas, outside those that we have singled out for Russian-American military co-operation".

Layers of conflict

Image copyright AP

By Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor, Damascus

Getting a deal was an achievement, given the sour atmosphere between Moscow and Washington. It offers some fragile hope about stopping the slaughter.

But there is scepticism about its chances. That is because a lot is going to have to go right, quite quickly, if the agreement is to work.

One necessity is President Assad's consent. A week-long ceasefire might be possible, but a political deal to end the war is still out of sight.

The Assad regime's survival depends on the Russians, so he will listen to them. But with Russia's help, the Assad regime is looking more robust.

So it is hard to see why the president, or his Russian allies, would want him to go.

The war in Syria is made up of layers of conflict, which connect up to regional and global rivalries. That makes it very hard to calm, let alone end.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry stressed that the plan could pave the way for a political transition.

"The plan is more prescriptive and far-reaching than any proposal to date and, if implemented by all sides, could allow political negotiations to take place on Syria's future," Mr Kerry said.

The United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, welcomed the agreement and said the UN would exert all efforts to deliver humanitarian aid.

'Apex of horror'

Fighting has recently escalated between Syria's army and rebels in eastern Aleppo, where 250,000 people live.

On Sunday, Syrian government forces were reported to have recaptured parts of Aleppo which were lost to rebels last month, placing rebel-held districts in the city's east once again under siege.

Mr de Mistura warned earlier on Friday that food and water shortages made the situation in Aleppo even more serious, and that fuel supplies could run out within days.

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told the BBC conditions in Aleppo had become appalling: "Eastern Aleppo is at the apex of horror, where any one of us, if we were there, would find life barely possible, let alone tolerable."

The US and Russia support opposite sides in the conflict that began in 2011: Washington backs a coalition of rebel groups it describes as moderate, while Moscow is seen as a key ally of President Assad.</s>The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal on Saturday to put Syria’s peace process back on track, including a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups.

 ‘Today, Sergei Lavrov and I, on behalf of our presidents and our countries, call 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,’ US secretary of state John Kerry told a news conference after marathon talks in the Swiss city.

 Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite continuing mistrust, the two sides had developed five documents that would revive a failed truce agreed in February and enable military coordination between the US and Russia against militant groups in Syria.

 Both sides agreed not to release the documents publicly.

 ‘This all creates the necessary conditions for resumption of the political process, which has been stalling for a long time,’ Lavrov told a news conference.

 The deal followed talks that stretched late into Friday night and several failed attempts to hammer out a deal over the past two weeks. The announcement on Friday was delayed as Kerry and US negotiators consulted with officials in Washington.

 ‘The Obama administration, the United States, is going the extra mile here because we believe that Russia, and my colleague (Lavrov), have the ability to press the Assad regime to stop this conflict and to come to the table and make peace,’ he said.

 Previous efforts to forge agreements to stop the fighting and deliver humanitarian aid to besieged communities in Syria have crumbled within weeks, with the United States accusing Assad’s forces of attacking opposition groups and civilians.

 Kerry said the ‘bedrock’ of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the banned Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

 ‘That should put an end to the barrel bombs, and an end to the indiscriminate bombing, and it has the potential to change the nature of the conflict.’

 Under the agreement, Russian-backed government forces and opposition groups, supported by the United States and Gulf States, would halt fighting for a while as a confidence building measure. During this time, opposition fighters will have the chance to separate from militant groups in areas, such as Aleppo, where they have become intermingled.

 If the truce holds from Monday, Russia and the United States will begin seven days of preparatory work to set up a ‘joint implementation centre’, where they will share information to delineate territory controlled by Nusra and opposition groups.

 Both warring sides would pull back from the strategic Castello Road in Aleppo to create a demilitarised zone, while opposition and government groups would both have to provide safe and unhindered access via Ramouseh in the south of the city.

 ‘We must go after these terrorists,’ Kerry said. ‘Not indiscriminately, but in a strategic, precise and judicious manner so they cannot continue to use the regime’s indiscriminate bombing to rally people to their hateful crimes.’

 All sides in the conflict would need to adhere to the nationwide truce, Kerry added, cautioning opposition fighters that if they did not separate from Nusra they would not be spared from air attacks.

 ‘This requires halting all attacks, including aerial bombardments, and any attempts to gain additional territory at the expense of the parties to the cessation. It requires unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all of the besieged and hard-to-reach areas including Aleppo.’

 Pentagon and US intelligence officials have spoken out against the idea of closer military cooperation with Russia, in particular the sharing of locations of opposition groups that have fought to topple Assad.

 US defense secretary Ash Carter, who only days ago delivered a forceful speech in England criticizing Russia, has long been skeptical of Moscow’s intentions in Syria.

 The Pentagon said in a statement it would carefully monitor the ‘preliminary understanding’ agreed on Friday and cautioned the Assad regime and its backer, Russia, to stick to deal requirements.

 ‘Those commitments must be fully met before any potential military cooperation can occur,’ Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. ‘We will be watching closely the implementation of this understanding in the days ahead.’

 The United States and Russia have backed opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, with few signs of an end in sight to more than five years of conflict, which killed more than 400,000 people and drove tens of thousands of refugees into Europe.

 The United Nations said on Friday the Syrian government had effectively stopped aid convoys this month and the besieged city of Aleppo was close to running out of fuel, making the talks even more urgent.

 The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that it had provided ‘clear rules’ for a cessation of hostilities and would allow warring sides to resume political talks on a transition.</s>The new U.S.-Russia deal on the Syrian ceasefire could be a game changer in international efforts to end the bloody war in Syria. Or the deal, the product of marathon talks since mid-June between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, could easily unravel as so many previous agreements have.

It faces daunting challenges: a gaping lack of trust between Moscow and Washington, unruly and suspicious local proxies, unhappy outside players in Iran and in the Gulf states, a hodgepodge of legal loopholes and lack of viable enforcement mechanisms. Its successful implementation is hard to fathom, but there is no other plan.

For the outgoing Obama administration, it is their final attempt at halting the violence in Syria and creating a breathing space for a negotiated political transition before the new administration takes over in January 2017.

The goal is to end the attacks on civilians and freeze the war between the regime forces and moderate opposition groups while carrying on with the central U.S. mission in Syria — defeating the Islamic State — a terror group banned in Russia — and Al-Qaeda. The removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, while still a necessary condition for the political transition, is no longer an immediate U.S. objective. For Kerry, it is a diplomatic mission to secure his legacy.

For Moscow, the deal offered by the United States is extremely advantageous and meets most of Russia’s political objectives for its one-year-old military intervention in Syria. It is perhaps the last available off-ramp leading to a dignified political exit from the war Russia could not win. The deal satisfies Moscow’s obsession with achieving the international status of an indispensable global player on a par with the United States.



It legitimizes its military intervention to save the Assad’s regime as a joint counterterrorism operation with the United States and recognizes Russia’s future role in Syria as a key partner for the incoming U.S. administration. It helps freeze the military situation on the ground that is advantageous to the Syrian regime and its allies, while creating conditions to further weaken the opposition. There is so much for Moscow to love in this deal that it is surprising it took three months to negotiate.



The key part of the new agreement is the dual-key arrangement for the U.S.-Russia targeting selection process which would give Washington veto power over Russian air operations in designated areas where the opposition is intermingled with Nusra fighters, while essentially grounding regime planes over much of Syria. The United States will have a considerable amount of say in where, when and how Russia could strike Syria, vetoing the use of dumb bombs, cluster munitions and air-fuel charges. This is the only way to end the indiscriminate bombing of the civilian areas that fueled the recruitment for the extremists.

Moscow, in its turn, would also have a veto over potential U.S. strikes on regime and allied targets, like cratering regime’s airfields with stand-off weapons (although Moscow allows Israel to bomb Syria at will). This dual-key arrangement will not affect freedom of air operations over Islamic State-held territory.

The renewed Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) — agreed in February, but since largely ignored by all sides — could create sufficient calm for the UN-sponsored political process to restart. The key requirement would be lifting of all sieges and allowing humanitarian aid deliveries to the besieged towns. Ending the siege of eastern Aleppo by the regime forces appears to be a key part of the agreement, with considerable attention paid to the security and logistical arrangements to deliver aid in a safe and secure way without clearing the city of its inhabitants and opposition fighters.

The key problem that could undo this U.S.-Russian agreement is the requirement for the vetted opposition groups to distance themselves on the ground from Nusra units which would then be jointly targeted by Russian and U.S. airstrikes. Nusra is locally embedded in northwestern Syria, particularly in the Idlib province, and is on its way to becoming a Sunni version of Hezbollah. For many rebel groups, distancing themselves from Nusra, much less fighting it, is no longer feasible, as this will weaken their front against the regime. Since the agreement does not ban regime or Russian artillery and missiles strikes against the Nusra-infiltrated targets or require their vetting by the United States, it allows Assad to torpedo the CoH seemingly at will if Russia stands by.



The success of the deal will largely depend on Moscow’s eagerness to end the fighting and extricate itself from the war on honorable terms by pressuring Assad into freezing the military situation (the last attempt in February-March 2016 failed miserably) and engaging in meaningful political dialogue with the opposition to secure a transfer of power to an inclusive Syrian government.

The odds are heavily stacked against the deal, but there is no better way forward.</s>US, Russia seal Syria truce, will carry out joint strikes – Deal raises rebel doubts as fighting rages

AMMAN/GENEVA: The United States and Russia reached a breakthrough deal early yesterday to try to restore peace in Syria, but air strikes hours later added to rebels’ doubts that any ceasefire could hold. The agreement, by the powers that back opposing sides in the five-year-old war, promises a nationwide truce from sundown tomorrow – the first day of Eid al-Adha, improved access for humanitarian aid and joint military targeting of hardline groups.

But hours later, jets bombed a marketplace in rebel-held Idlib in northwestern Syria, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens, according to locals and rescue workers who said they believed the planes to be Russian. Idlib province has endured escalating strikes by Russian jets in recent months, according to international aid workers and residents, destroying scores of hospitals, bakeries and other infrastructure across rebel-held territory.

Aleppo was also hit from the air and fighting continued on the ground. The army attacked rebel-held areas, both sides said, pushing to maximize gains before the ceasefire deadline. Ten people were killed by barrel bombs dropped by army helicopters on the besieged rebel-held east of the city, and jets, either Syrian or Russian, bombed rebel-held towns in the northern countryside along important insurgent supply routes, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Insurgents said they were planning a counter-offensive. “The fighting is flaring on all the fronts of southern Aleppo,” rebel spokesman Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak said. Razak, of the Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) which is backed by the West, said they were studying the peace deal but feared it merely gave the Syrian army a chance to gather forces and pour more Iranian-backed militias into Aleppo.

President Bashar Al-Assad’s government made no comment on the peace deal, but Syrian media were broadly positive. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that the “government has approved the agreement, and a cessation of hostilities will begin in Aleppo for humanitarian reasons”. Citing “informed sources”, it said “the entire agreement was reached with the knowledge of the Syrian government”.

Syria’s mainstream political opposition, the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said it had not received a copy of the deal and would only react after consulting members. A spokeswoman had earlier welcomed any deal that spared civilian lives but cast doubt on whether Moscow would be able to pressure Damascus to stop indiscriminate bombing.

US Secretary of State John Kerry called on all sides to respect the deal, which was finally reached after several failed attempts over recent weeks. “This requires halting all attacks, including aerial bombardments, and any attempts to gain additional territory at the expense of the parties to the cessation. It requires unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all of the besieged and hard-to-reach areas including Aleppo,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite continuing mistrust, the two sides had developed five documents that would enable coordination of the fight against terrorism and a revival of Syria’s failed truce. Both sides agreed not to release the documents publicly. “This all creates the necessary conditions for resumption of the political process, which has been stalling for a long time,” Lavrov said.

Previous peace efforts have crumbled within weeks, with the United States accusing Assad’s forces of attacking opposition groups and civilians. Kerry said the “bedrock” of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria which recently changed its name to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. Under the new deal, both sides – Russian-backed government forces and rebel groups supported by the US and Gulf states, – are to halt fighting as a confidence building measure.

If the truce holds from tomorrow, Russia and the United States will begin seven days of preparatory work to set up a “joint implementation center”, where they will share information to distinguish territory controlled by Nusra from that held by other rebel groups. “We will jointly agree on strikes against terrorists to be carried out by the Russian and American air forces. We have agreed on the zones in which these strikes will be carried out,” said Lavrov. It will be followed by coordinated strikes against Al Nusra rebels and the Islamic State group – if it holds for a week, Lavrov said. “Only the Russian and American air forces will work in these zones,” Lavrov said.

For many FSA rebels, the idea of a clear separation from Nusra is problematic because on several fronts they fight together against the army and allied Iranian-backed militias. Fateh al-Sham has also played a major role in trying to end the siege of eastern Aleppo which many rebels say has boosted its popularity, and discussions are ongoing to possibly unify ranks under a broader opposition army. “Fateh al-Sham is a faction present on the ground and it takes part in most of the military operations, and the matter of separating it is not possible, particularly given that there are attempts to merge, within some factions, with Fateh al-Sham,” Fares Al-Bayoush, head of an FSA group called the Northern Division, told Reuters. – Agencies</s>Syrian rebels cast doubt on U.S.-Russian deal, says Moscow will keep bombing

AMMAN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Syria's moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels said on Saturday they saw little chance of the new U.S.-Russian peace deal succeeding because Damascus and Moscow would not abide by it.

Fares al-Bayoush, head of an FSA group called the Northern Division, said Russia and Damascus had not observed the last agreement, and the chances of the new deal succeeding were the same as the last one.

Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak, military spokesman for the rebel Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, said the deal would only give the Syrian army an chance to gather forces and pour more Iranian-backed militias into the main battles raging in Aleppo.</s>AMMAN/GENEVA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal early on Saturday to put Syria's peace process back on track, though the war-torn country's rebels said they doubted it would hold and violence raged on in Aleppo.

The agreement reached by the powers backing opposing sides in the conflict promised a nationwide truce effective from sundown on Monday, improved humanitarian aid access and joint military targeting of banned Islamist groups.

But only hours after it was announced, Syria's army attacked rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, both sides said, as the military pushed to maximise gains before the ceasefire deadline.

Insurgents said they were planning a counter-offensive.

"The fighting is flaring on all the fronts of southern Aleppo but the clashes in Amiryah are the heaviest," Captain Abdul Salam Abdul Razak, the military spokesman of the rebel Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades said.

Syria's 5-year civil war has killed thousands in Aleppo, the main focus of clashes between insurgents, including Western-backed rebels, and pro-government forces backed by Russia and Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on all sides to respect the deal, which was reached after marathon talks in Geneva and several failed attempts to hammer out the details in recent weeks.

"This requires halting all attacks, including aerial bombardments, and any attempts to gain additional territory at the expense of the parties to the cessation. It requires unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to all of the besieged and hard-to-reach areas including Aleppo," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite continuing mistrust, the two sides had developed five documents that would enable coordination of the fight against terrorism and a revival of Syria's failed truce in an enhanced form.

Both sides agreed not to release the documents publicly.

"This all creates the necessary conditions for resumption of the political process, which has been stalling for a long time," Lavrov told a news conference.

Previous efforts to forge agreements to stop the fighting and deliver humanitarian aid to besieged communities in Syria have crumbled within weeks, with the United States accusing Assad's forces of attacking opposition groups and civilians.

Kerry said the "bedrock" of the new deal was an agreement that the Syrian government would not fly combat missions in an agreed area on the pretext of hunting fighters from the banned Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Under the agreement, Russian-backed government forces and opposition groups, supported by the United States and Gulf States, would halt fighting for a while as a confidence building measure.

If the truce holds from Monday, Russia and the United States will begin seven days of preparatory work to set up a "joint implementation centre", where they will share information to delineate territory controlled by Nusra and opposition groups.

Both warring sides would pull back from the strategic Castello Road in Aleppo to create a demilitarised zone, while opposition and government groups would both have to provide safe and unhindered access via Ramouseh in the south of the city.

Syria's moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels said on Saturday they saw were sceptical the deal would be enforced as Damascus and Moscow had continued bombing their areas under earlier truces.

Razak, from the rebel Nour al-Din al Zinki Brigades, said they were studying the deal but it appeared it would only give the Syrian army a chance to gather forces and pour more Iranian-backed militias into the main battles raging in Aleppo.

The U.K. based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said jets believed to be either Syrian or Russian also hit rebel-held towns in the northern Aleppo countryside including Anadan and Hreitan along important insurgent supply routes.

The monitor confirmed reports by residents and activists in rebel-held eastern Aleppo who said Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on residential civilian areas in several districts with scores injured and at least four civilians killed.

Jets believed to be Russian also hit several areas in rebel held Idlib city in northwestern Syria, targeting a busy market with reports of several dead and injured, residents and the monitor said. (Editing by Andrew Heavens)</s>Top three obstacles to US-Russia truce deal on Syria

The complex Syria ceasefire deal agreed by the US and Russia faces numerous challenges, from the deep mistrust between rebels and regime to the web of actors drawn into the war.

After marathon talks, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced the deal late Friday in Geneva.

It aims to enforce a cessation of hostilities and increased aid access to desperate civilians, and lays the groundwork for joint US-Russia military action against jihadists.

Perhaps the most prominent obstacle to the implementation of the deal is deep mistrust between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel groups.

After five years of war, each side is sceptical of the other's willingness to adhere to a ceasefire and previously attempted truces have failed.

Most recently, a cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Russia in February led to a drop in violence on major fronts but frayed several weeks later.

Daily bombardment and indiscriminate attacks on civilians resumed, particularly in the battleground northern city of Aleppo.

Syria's regime calls all its armed opponents "terrorists", and Lavrov criticised the opposition for issuing "ultimatums, the refusals to cooperate, et cetera" as he announced the new deal Friday.

Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute warned rebels "have little faith in a long-term cessation of hostilities holding".

Meanwhile, Syria's opposition High Negotiations Committee said Saturday it did not trust the regime to commit to the truce without Russian pressure.

"We don't expect the regime to (comply to the deal) of its own free will. We're not counting on the regime at all," said leading HNC member Bassma Kodmani.

As part of the deal, opposition groups must separate themselves from the powerful jihadists of the Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from Al-Nusra Front after breaking its ties to Al-Qaeda.

To fight off the regime, rebels and Islamist groups have allied themselves with Fateh al-Sham, particularly in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo.

The HNC's Kodmani said rebels had been forced to ally with jihadists because of the regime's use of siege tactics, but they would break that alliance if the truce held.

"The moderate groups will reorganise and distance themselves from the radical groups. We will do our part," she said.

But experts are more doubtful.

Lister said rebels had not indicated willingness to break off that alliance, which they see as "a military necessity".

"To them, doing so means effectively ceding territory to the regime... It will be hard to change this mindset," he said.

Syria's war has seen the country carved out into zones controlled by competing forces: regime, rebels, Kurds and jihadists.

But it has also drawn in a myriad of regional and international powers on different sides of the conflict.

The deal won support on Saturday from Turkey, which is a key rebel backer but has recently repaired relations with regime ally Russia.

But steadfast Assad supporter Iran has yet to react.

"Ultimately, I'd argue that we also need Iran's public agreement just as much as anyone else's," Lister wrote.

"If Tehran sees this (deal) as moving towards a US-Russian political compromise in Damascus, it may well prove to be an active spoiler."

In announcing the agreement, Lavrov conceded there were "a lot of stakeholders involved inside and outside Syria -- all that, of course, did not help us."

And Syria's crisis, Kerry said, "is complex for reasons that we all understand -– the number of stakeholders with different agendas, the wounds that have been inflicted by years of fighting, the ideological and sectarian divides, the urban and suburban war zones, the brutality of extremists, and the unhelpful actions of some outside powers."</s>A look at details of US-Russia deal on Syria

GENEVA (AP) — A look at some of the key points in an "arrangement" announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, aimed at halting fighting in Syria and moving toward a political transition after 5-1/2 years of combat between President Bashar Assad's forces and opposition rebels:

WHAT THE ARRANGEMENT SAYS

A nationwide cease-fire by Assad's forces and the U.S.-backed opposition is set to begin across Syria at sundown Monday. That sets off a seven-day period that will allow for humanitarian aid and civilian traffic into Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial capital, which has faced a recent onslaught.

Fighting forces are to also pull back from the Costello Road, a key thoroughfare and access route into Aleppo, and create a "demilitarized zone" around it.

Also Monday, the United States and Russia will begin preparations for the creation of a Joint Implementation Center that will involve information sharing needed to define areas controlled by the radical Nusra Front and opposition groups in areas "of active hostilities."

The center is expected to be established a week later, and is to launch a broader effort toward delineating other territories in control of various groups.

As part of the arrangement, Russia is expected to keep Syrian air force planes from bombing areas controlled by the opposition. The United States has committed to help weaken the Nusra Front, an extremist group that has intermingled with the U.S.-backed opposition in places.

A resumption of political dialogue between the government and opposition under U.N. mediation, which was halted amid an upsurge in fighting in April, will be sought over the longer term.

Syria's civil war has killed as many as 500,000 people and sent millions fleeing their homes within Syria and into exile.

Kerry said this "new equation" offers an opportunity to find a peaceful solution and reverse the current trend of "creating more terrorists" and more destruction.

Kerry said the U.S.-supported opposition and other fighters will be called upon to set themselves apart from the radical Islamic State group and the Nusra Front.

Lavrov said through a translator, "The Syrian government has been informed of these arrangements and is ready to fulfill them."

HOW THE ARRANGEMENT CAME TOGETHER

The Geneva negotiating session lasted more than 13 hours and capped a flurry of meetings between the two diplomats in recent days. Kerry and Lavrov met four times since a previous Geneva meeting on Aug. 26, and Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin discussed the matter at a summit in China.

WHAT MAKES THIS DEAL DIFFERENT

The United States and Russia, ultimately, are to find themselves fighting together against the Islamic State and Nusra, and embarking on unprecedented information-sharing — aimed at dispelling longstanding mistrust between the two powers over the Syria conflict.

Kerry acknowledged "confusion" between Nusra and "legitimate opposition groups" that had led to a "fraying" of a cease-fire that was shepherded earlier this year by the U.S. and Russia and brought a badly-needed, if temporary, respite to Syrian civilians for several weeks.</s>The Obama administration is hailing its new initiative with Russia to halt the warfare in Syria as a potential “turning point” in one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.

But the room for doubt that the complex agreement announced early Saturday will work is enormous, hardened by years of broken promises and cynical gambits by the warring parties and their backers.

On paper at least, both the U.S. and Russia come away from marathon negotiations with components they demanded.

If the agreement takes hold, Washington and Moscow would form a new military alliance laser-focused on Islamic State and Al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups, a cooperation seemingly unthinkable amid the two countries’ tense relations of late.

And it would finally spare the people of Syria — especially in the besieged city of Aleppo, where civilians are being killed daily — from steady bomb attacks and provide them with desperately needed sustenance under a temporary cease-fire and the opening of some humanitarian aid routes.

But once again, the world’s top diplomats have punted on the fate of Syria’s widely reviled, Russian-backed leader, President Bashar Assad, setting no clear provisions for his removal. That, in turn, leaves questions unanswered as to a permanent solution for the war in Syria, arguably one of the most vexing and tragically handled crises in the outgoing Obama administration.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry acknowledged both the make-or-break nature of the violence in Syria and efforts to decrease it, and the inherent difficulties of success.

“No one is building this based on trust,” Kerry said at a brief news conference in Geneva in the wee hours Saturday, with his partner in negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at his side.

“But let me be clear: Out of all of this complexity there is emerging now a simple choice between war and peace; between human agony and humanitarian relief; between the continued disintegration of an ancient society and the rebirth of a united and modern nation.”

Kerry pointed to two key provisions in the agreement that he says can make a difference over past, failed cease-fires. First, the Assad government will be required to suspend aerial attacks by its helicopters and warplanes on civilian areas. Russia must use its influence to guarantee that, and Lavrov said the Syrian government was on board.

Second, the U.S. agreed to pressure “moderate” rebel groups opposed to the Syrian government to fully distance themselves from the Front for the Conquest of Syria, formerly known as Al Nusra Front, which the U.S. considers Al Qaeda’s branch in Syria. But that will be extremely difficult.

The front’s militiamen work so closely with several of the U.S.-supported rebel groups that they are, as Kerry put it, “marbleized.” They are among some of the toughest fighters in Syria and are widely regarded as the force that was able to partially break the government’s siege on Aleppo.

Under the plan, “a cessation of hostilities” is set to take effect at nightfall Monday, which is also the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. If the cease-fire is “genuine” and verifiable, Kerry said, U.S.-Russian military cooperation will begin. That would include the sharing of intelligence ahead of bombing runs and joint selection of targets.

Critically, neither Kerry nor Lavrov announced the sort of robust, verification protocols that most experts said would be essential. Nor did the diplomats announce any punishment for violating the cease-fire, part of what caused an earlier such agreement in February to break down within weeks.

“With no kind of monitoring mechanism, it will be hard to get Russia and the U.S. to agree on who violated. That was the problem in February, in March, in April,” said Robert S. Ford, the last U.S. ambassador to Syria and now a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “Until the combatants and their leaders decide there is more for them in peace than in fighting, this is not sustainable.”

U.S. officials, skeptical of both Russia and Syria’s intentions, had wanted a longer period of calm than just one week but evidently relented. Kerry also agreed to move the Front for the Conquest of Syria higher on the list of targets, insisting that was not a concession because it is a dangerous extremist group.

Assad has repeatedly used talks and truces to play for time, according to aid workers, diplomats and military analysts.

His ostensible acceptance of the cease-fire in February, coupled with Russia’s entry into the war a year ago, helped government forces gain the upper hand in the five-year war that has killed at least half a million people and turned millions more into homeless refugees.

They bombed hospitals and used chemical weapons with impunity, medical personnel and human rights activists say.

If Syria’s intentions cannot be trusted, neither can the Russians, some Obama administration officials contend. Kerry encountered stiff resistance to new cooperation with Russia from Defense Department and intelligence officials.

Just three days ago, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter delivered a speech in London that was highly critical of Russia’s “coercion and aggression.” He said Russia’s territorial belligerence and its “unprofessional behavior in the air, in space and in cyberspace” made it an unreliable partner.

After the agreement was announced in Geneva, the Pentagon remained cautious. Commitments by the Russian and Syrian governments to abide by a sustained cease-fire “must be fully met before any potential military cooperation can occur,” department spokesman Peter Cook said. “We will be watching closely the implementation of this understanding in the days ahead."

Privately, senior U.S. defense officials said they were doubtful about the utility of any deal with the Russian military.

"Of course, I'm pessimistic. I mean, they're Russians. How could we trust them?" said one U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

Since the beginning of Russian military involvement in the Syrian conflict a year ago, the Kremlin has angled to collaborate with the United States so they can share intelligence and targeting information.</s>BEIRUT: Hezbollah has announced its support for a US-Russia truce deal for Syria, where the Lebanese movement has intervened militarily on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad.

In a statement published late Saturday on its official media arm Al-Manar, the group’s unnamed “field commander for Syria operations” said Hezbollah “stands with the ceasefire.”

“Syria’s allies are completely committed to what the Syrian leadership, government, and security and political forces have decided in terms of the ceasefire,” the statement said.

But it pledged to pursue an “open, relentless war against the terrorists” of the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front, which changed its name to Fateh al-Sham Front after renouncing its ties to Al-Qaeda.

Hezbollah has dispatched between 5,000 to 8,000 fighters to bolster the beleaguered Syrian army.

The new ceasefire, agreed as part of a landmark deal brokered by Russia and the US, is set to begin on Monday at sundown.

If the truce holds for one week, the US and Russia could start joint operations against jihadists from the Islamic State group and Fateh al-Sham Front.
The U.S. Obama administration and the Russian Putin administration agree to a Syrian peace deal. The deal is intended to end combat in specified areas and create a joint center of combat to fight ISIL and Al-Nusra Front.