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Security Council President Says 'Almost There' on Syria Ceasefire

U.N. Security Council diplomats are "almost there" in their bid for a deal with Russia on a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, the council president said Friday.

"We are still working on the language, on some of the paragraphs, but we are almost there," said Kuwait's Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi, who holds the presidency this month.

The council is scheduled to meet at 2:30 pm (1930 GMT) to vote on a draft resolution demanding the truce to allow for humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Kuwait and Sweden presented the proposed measure two weeks ago but negotiations have dragged on as Syrian government forces wage a fierce air assault on Eastern Ghouta.

More than 400 people have been killed in the six-day offensive on the rebel-held enclave, where U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said 400,000 Syrians are living in "hell on Earth."

In a concession to Russia, the draft resolution states that the ceasefire will not apply to operations against the Islamic State group or al-Qaida, along with "individuals, groups, undertakings and entities" associated with the terror groups.

Diplomats said negotiations were focused on Russian demands that rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces comply with the truce.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier criticized the draft resolution, saying that "no one can answer the question if the fighters will respect this truce... no one is giving guarantees."

"In order for this resolution to be effective  -- and we are ready to give our agreement to a text that does that -- we propose a plan allowing for a real truce and based on guarantees from all those who are inside and outside Eastern Ghouta," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.

Lavrov pointed to the Americans, who have "influence on the extremist groups remaining in this suburb of Damascus."

Negotiations also focused on ensuring the ceasefire goes into effect immediately and for aid deliveries along with medical evacuations to also begin as soon as the truce begins.

A previous draft had proposed that the ceasefire start 72 hours after the adoption and deliveries 48 hours after that.

The text would demand the immediate lifting of all sieges including in Eastern Ghouta, Yarmouk, Foua and Kefraya and order all sides to "cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival."

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions driven from the homes in the war, which next month enters its eighth year with no end in sight.

Source: Agence France Presse


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