MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. The implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Russia and the United States is the only hope for the Syrian settlement, former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis has told a conference of the Valdai discussion club titled "Middle East: From Violence to Safety."
"The only hope that we have is the Russian-US decision on a ceasefire," he said. "No one knows how it will happen, but this is the best option the two countries could offer."
"We hope that eventually the country’s territorial integrity will be attained and its multi-religious nature will be preserved," Yakis said.
Ceasefire agreement
Russia and the United States on Monday adopted a joint statement on truce in Syria as of February 27 midnight Damascus time. The parties to the conflict - the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition groups - have already given their preliminary consent to ceasefire. Russia’s air base Hmeimim in Syria has opened a coordination center. All opposition groups are free to use its hotline number to declare they have decided to stop fighting.
Russian and US military will mark on maps the areas taken up by Syrian opposition groups not to be attacked by the Syrian army, the Russian air group and the US-led anti-terrorist coalition. The Russian-US agreement is not applicable to the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations blacklisted by the UN Security Council.