Russia is pushing for a UN Security Council
vote Saturday to support the ceasefire it
helped broker in Syria, where the truce
remained largely intact on its second day
despite sporadic clashes.
Moscow says it wants the United Nations to be
involved in peace talks between Damascus and
rebels in Kazakhstan in January, although the UN
is negotiating its own separate peace efforts.
Rebel supporter Turkey and key regime ally
Russia, which brokered the truce, say the talks in
the Kazakh capital Astana aim to supplement
UN-backed peace efforts, rather than replace
them.
They want to involve regional players like Egypt ,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar , and Jordan.
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin voiced
hope that the council would vote Saturday on the
draft resolution -- which also endorses the
planned talks in Kazakhstan -- "and adopt it
unanimously".
Diplomats however, said they did not see how a
quick UN weekend vote could occur as the
resolution needed to be "seriously studied" and
hinted Russia might be hard-pressed to muster
the nine votes needed for it to pass.
Washington is conspicuously absent from the
new process, but Moscow has said it hoped to
bring US President-elect Donald Trump's
administration on board once he takes office in
January.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
British-based monitor of the war, said that most
of the country remained calm on Saturday.
But limited clashes continued in some areas
including Wadi Barada near Damascus and the
southern city of Daraa where one opposition
fighter was killed.
Rebels in Wadi Barada have cut water supplies
to the capital leaving four million people without
water.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said
that five rebel fighters were killed on Friday in
the opposition bastion of Eastern Ghouta near
Damascus and in Wadi Barada where helicopters
carried out raids on rebel positions.
A civilian was also killed by regime sniper fire in
Eastern Ghouta while another died in shelling in
Wadi Barada, he said.
The forces in Wadi Barada include former Al-
Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front , previously
known as Al-Nusra Front, which Syria's
government says is excluded from the ceasefire.
The Observatory also reported at least 16
government air strikes across several areas in
Hama province in central Syria, with no
casualties.
Tired of war
In rebel-held Idlib province, however, it was quiet
and residents expressed hope for respite from the
bloody conflict.
"I support the ceasefire... and I support its
continuation," said 31-year-old Ahmed Astify.
"Everyone, whether (they are) rebels or regular
people, is tired," he added.
Mohammed, 28, said: "We hope that this will
lead to the end of the war."
Syria's government and its ally Iran both
welcomed the ceasefire deal.
Damascus called it a "real opportunity" to find a
political solution to the war, which has killed
more than 310,000 people since it began in
March 2011 with protests against the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad.
Despite being left out of the process, Washington
described the truce as "positive".
Analysts were cautious but said the involvement
of Russia, Iran and Turkey could be important.
Sam Heller, fellow at The Century Foundation,
said there was "real interest and urgency" from
Moscow and Ankara, but expressed doubts about
whether Tehran and Damascus were on board.
"All indications are that Iran and the regime want
to continue towards a military conclusion," he
said.
He said renewed fighting in Wadi Barada or
Eastern Ghouta could pose major threats to the
truce.
Talks in Astana
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he
would now reduce Moscow's military contingent
in Syria, which has been fighting to bolster the
government since last year.
» » » But he added Russia would continue to
fight "terrorism" and maintain its support for the
government.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also
said Ankara would continue the operation it
began in August targeting the Islamic State
group and Kurdish fighters.
Despite backing opposite sides in the conflict,
Turkey and Russia have worked increasingly
closely on Syria, brokering a deal this month to
allow the evacuation of tens of thousands of
civilians and rebel fighters from Aleppo.
Their ceasefire deal calls for negotiations over a
political solution to end the conflict that has
killed more than 310,000 people and forced
millions to flee.
UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura has said he
hoped the agreement would "pave the way for
productive talks", but also reiterated he wants
negotiations mediated by his office to continue
next year.
The council held closed-door consultations on
the text early Friday and Russia later amended
the draft at the request of several member
states.
The latest draft of the resolution, a copy of
which was seen by AFP, includes a reference to
the talks being led by de Mistura.
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