Ceasefire in Syria's largest city for 48 hours

(Baonghean.vn) - According to the announcement of the US State Department on May 4, Washington and Moscow have reached a temporary ceasefire agreement for 48 hours in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where violence has escalated recently.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city. Photo: Independent.

This is crucial to maintaining and expanding the temporary ceasefires currently in place in other areas, thereby supporting dialogue efforts on a peaceful solution for Syria.

A source from the Syrian army confirmed that the “calm regime” in Aleppo will officially take effect within 48 hours from 1:00 a.m. on May 5, Damascus time (ie 5:00 a.m. on May 5, Hanoi time).

A day earlier, Russia and the United States agreed to coordinate with the warring parties in Syria to extend a temporary ceasefire to Aleppo, where more than 280 civilians have been killed in fighting since April 22.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has welcomed the new ceasefire agreement, which includes the Aleppo “hotspot” as above. Mr. Kerry hopes that all parties, including the Damascus government as well as opposition groups, will fully comply with this ceasefire.

Meanwhile, a statement from the US State Department on May 4 said, “We expect Russia, as co-chair of the International Syria Support Group, to urge the Assad regime to comply with the ceasefire, and the US will do the same with opposition groups in Syria.”

Airstrikes on Aleppo have killed hundreds of people in the past 10 days. Photo: AP.

Also on May 4, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault began discussions in the German capital Berlin about the crisis in Syria.

Commenting on the ceasefire extending to the Aleppo area, both French Foreign Minister Ayrault and his German counterpart Frank Walter Steinmeier agreed that achieving a ceasefire in Aleppo is necessary to restore peace talks to end the protracted conflict in Syria.

German Foreign Minister Steinmeier, whose country organized a discussion on the crisis in Syria with the participation of opposition figure Riad Hijab and UN Special Envoy to Syria Steffan de Mistura, said that every effort must be made to de-escalate tensions in the Middle Eastern country and that there is no military solution to the current crisis in Syria.

Lan Ha

(According to DW)