Syrian Govt, Some Rebels Endorse Ceasefire Plan

Groups Will Abide by Pact, But Don't Expect Much

The Syrian Foreign Ministry, along with the rebel ‘High Negotiations Committee,” have announced that they intend to comply with the US-Russia brokered ceasefire deal, which is intended to go into place on Saturday, and will

The announcements come just a day after the ceasefire deal was announced, but both sides insisted they have serious doubts that the pause will amount to much, and that they expect the other side to violate the ceasefire first.

The High Negotiations Committee only amounts to a portion of the Syrian rebellion at any rate. The group was established in Saudi Arabia among rebel factions invited to a Saudi-brokered effort to unite the rebels they’re backing. The Saudi talks excluded a number of factions, however, and even those involved didn’t uniformly endorse the committee.

There are still a few days for other factions to sign up for the ceasefire, but some rebels have already openly rejected the idea, so full participation, at least among the factions intended to be covered, is almost certainly out of reach.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.