MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. The agreements on a ceasefire in Syria and on the parties’ willingness to start peace talks could pay the way to a peaceful solution to the conflict, Russian parliament member, international affairs expert Vyacheslav Nikonov told TASS on Thursday.
"This is indeed a very important event as it could pay the way to the peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict. Russia and our Aerospace Force have played the key role in this process by helping Syrian troops clear Aleppo of terrorists thus ensuring an important strategic victory," the lawmaker noted adding that "very close trilateral dialogue between Russia, Turkey and Iran made these agreements possible."
According to Nikonov, "the notable thing is that this process did not involve the US that claims to have influence on the armed opposition." "It turned out that Washington’s influence is not very strong. All decisions have been made by the three countries," the Russian expert noted.
"This provides grounds for believing that the dialogue planned to begin in Astana will ensure a political solution to the Syrian crisis," Nikonov concluded.
Earlier on Thursday, at a meeting with defense and foreign ministers, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that agreements on a ceasefire in Syria had been reached, the parties had expressed their readiness to begin the peace talks.
According to the Russian President, three documents have been signed. A ceasefire agreement was signed by the Syrian government and the armed opposition. The second document outlines the measures aimed at controlling the ceasefire while the third one is a statement indicating the parties’ readiness to start peace talks on settling the Syrian conflict, Putin elaborated.