Russia, Iran and Turkey have signed a deal calling for safe zones to be established inside Syria so that refugees can return and aid be sent in.
The deal, which has not been signed by rebel groups or the Syrian government, proposes one zone in Idlib province, another in Homs, and a third near Damascus.
In theory, all three sites would be no-fly and no-combat zones, though how these areas would be enforced and by whom remains unclear.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks.
A member of the rebel delegation stormed out of the talks at one point, denouncing Iran which supports the Syrian government.
Russia also backs Assad’s leadership, while Turkey supports several rebel factions.
Idlib, where the first of the zones is to be located, is under rebel control and was the site of the recent gas attack which was blamed by the West on Assad’s regime.
Homs is largely under the control of government forces, though there is still fierce fighting with ISIS in the area.
Meanwhile the eastern district of Ghouta, in Damascus, is held by a warring selection of rebel factions.
Wednesday’s agreement followed on from the Astana talks in December last year which brokered a largely failed ceasefire.
Kazakhstan’s foreign minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said: ‘Over the past two days, the participants in the Astana talks reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the cessation of hostilities.
‘As a result the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria.’
The aim is to ‘put an immediate end to the violence’ and ‘provide the conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees’ as well as the immediate delivery of relief supplies and medical aid, the document said.
Syrian rebels said earlier Thursday that they had resumed participation in the talks after having suspended their involvement a day earlier over air strikes against civilians.
After talks with Turkey counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the safe zones were meant to lead to ‘further pacification and cessation of hostilities.’
He also said the proposed zones would also be no-fly areas if fighting on the ground there stopped entirely.
The Kremlin’s plan echoes calls by US leader Donald Trump to establish safe zones in Syria.
Putin said Wednesday that ‘as far I could tell’ the US leader broadly supported the idea in a phone call they held on Tuesday.
Erdogan said in comments published Thursday that Moscow’s plan to set up these zones in Syria would ’50 per cent’ solve the six-year conflict.
More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country’s war began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
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