Turkey and Russia have agreed on a nationwide cease-fire plan in Syria that will end all hostile activities between the moderate opposition and the Assad regime, Ankara and the Kremlin announced on Thursday.
Under the cease-fire deal, the Assad regime and opposition will cease their activities against each other across Syria. The deal, which was brokered by Ankara and the Kremlin, will exclude terrorist groups recognized by the United Nations Security Council. Daesh and the Nusra Front will still be targeted by the parties.
As part of the deal, all parties will ensure that they do not expand toward each other's areas.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Thursday on the phone regarding the developments. The two leaders reportedly discussed the cease-fire and the Astana process.
Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın made a statement Thursday on the two leaders' phone conversation. Kalın said that Erdoğan and Putin pondered on the cease-fire and Astana process. Stressing that Ankara sees the cease-fire as a significant step, Kalın said: "We support it with the Russian Federation as guarantors. ... Our president's works and initiatives will continue for the Astana process to succeed."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry hailed the agreement, saying, "An agreement was reached between the fighting parties to establish a cease-fire starting on Dec. 30 at 12:00 a.m."
According to a written statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ankara will continue its efforts for the opposition and the Assad regime to hold further meetings for a political transition. The ministry expressed Ankara's hope that the two sides take concrete steps towards a peaceful solution.
"Turkey and Russia strongly support and will jointly monitor the cease-fire/cessation of hostilities," the ministry said.
"The agreements reached are, of course, fragile, need special attention and involvement... But after all, this is a notable result of our joint work, efforts by the defense and foreign ministries, our partners in the regions," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Putin's announcement followed a statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA, which said the Syrian army would begin a cease-fire at midnight.
The Turkish-Russian-brokered cease-fire involves more than 60,000 opposition fighters, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
He also said that Russia had agreed to reduce its military deployment in Syria. The Russian foreign minister said that the ministry has started preparations for the meeting on a Syrian crisis resolution in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Putin and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in mid-December had agreed on peace talks to be held between Syrian moderate opposition representatives and the Assad regime in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu affirmed on Thursday that it was "out of the question" for Ankara to hold any talks with the Assad regime.
Speaking during a live broadcast with the A Haber news channel before the cease-fire was announced, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu noted that both leaders have displayed the necessary will to implement the cease-fire.
Further commenting on Assad's involvement throughout the cease-fire process, Çavuşoğlu strongly dismissed Reuters' claims of Turkey agreeing to accept the Assad regime in Syria's transition period.
"We still believe that the regime in Syria, which caused the death of 600,000 people, cannot achieve a political transition," Çavuşoğlu said.While underlining that transition must be done with people accepted by all in Syria, the Turkish foreign minister stressed that "the most important matter here is what the Syrian people and the opposition has to say."
The PKK's Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), will also be targeted by the Turkish military. The YPG will not be part of the cease-fire deal and Çavuşoğlu said both on Thursday and Wednesday that the cease-fire plan will not affect Turkey's anti-PYD fight in Syria.
The foreign minister stressed that the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the PYD's armed wing, the YPG will continue to be targeted in Syria by the Turkish military. However, Çavuşoğlu said that there is no consensus in the United Nations Security Council regarding the YPG's status.
He said that the U.S. does not want to recognize the YPG as a terrorist group as it has been trying to benefit from it in its alleged anti-Daesh fight."It is a fact that the U.S. will not be in favor of including the YPG in the list of terrorist groups while trying to use it against Daesh," he said.
In a statement, the Turkey-based opposition group Syrian National Coalition said that the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which takes part in Operation Euphrates Shield launched by Turkey on Aug. 24, was committed to the truce.