WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Saturday said it welcomed news of a cease-fire in Northwest Syria — the last opposition bastion in the country — and urged for an end to attacks on civilians.
Last week Syrian media reported that the cease-fire would take place as long as rebel fighters implement the terms of a de-escalation agreement brokered last year by Russia and Turkey.
“The United States believes there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict, and only a political solution can ensure a stable and secure future for all Syrians,” the State Department said in a statement.
“We further believe the only viable path to a political solution is the UN-led political process in Geneva, including constitutional reform and UN-supervised elections,” the statement said.
The US will support the work of UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and the UN to advance a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that would create a permanent, peaceful, and political end to the conflict, the State Department added.
HIGHLIGHT
The US says will support the work of UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and the UN to advance a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that would create a permanent, peaceful, and political end to the conflict.
The region — including Idlib province and parts of nearby Hama — was part of the last major stronghold of armed opposition to Bashar Assad, who has vowed to reclaim all of Syria.
The Department also commended efforts by Turkey and Russia to restore the cease fire they agreed in September 2018.
Meanwhile, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, an opposition group in Syria’s Idlib province, on Saturday refused any withdrawal from a future buffer zone after the cese-fire went into effect in the area.
