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Europe leaders give positive assessment of Syria truce: Kremlin

Friday, 04 March 2016 2:25 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 March 2016 3:48 PM ]

A Syrian man and his children carry sacks of wheat and aid, provided by the World Food Program (WFP), in Kafr Batna, in the militant-held Eastern Ghouta area, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on March 1, 2016. (AFP photo)

The leaders of Russia, France, Germany, Britain and Italy have given a positive assessment of the Syria truce which came into effect last Saturday, saying it has begun to yield positive results, according to the Kremlin.

The Kremlin said in a statement that the leaders made the remarks during a conference call on Friday, adding that they agreed that the cessation of hostilities paves the way for a political settlement.

"The importance of continued uncompromising fight against Islamic State (Daesh), the Nusra Front and other terrorist groups" was stressed during the call, it said.

The agreement stipulated the cessation of all military hostilities in Syria, except for the operations against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group and the Syrian al-Qaeda, known as al-Nusra Front. The agreement was negotiated by Russia and the United States, which support opposing sides in the Syrian conflict.

The Kremlin statement added that Russia believes the decision by the Damascus government to hold a parliamentary election "will not hamper steps towards building a peace process.”

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called for parliamentary elections to be held on April 13.

The news comes as warring sides blame each other for violating the truce; however, the United Nations' Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday that the deal on the cessation of hostilities was largely holding.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly insurgency it blames on some foreign states for nearly five years with estimates showing that more than 250,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced in the Arab country.

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