An official in the Syrian Coalition stressed that any de-escalation agreement must cover all Syrian territory, adding that such agreements must be reached in parallel with progress in the political solution to prevent the Assad regime from exploiting these agreements to achieve military gains.
Member of the Coalition’s political committee Yasser Farhan said that a comprehensive cease-fire “has always one of the Syrian people’s main demands.” He added that the Assad regime “still insists on pursuing a military solution to crush the Syrian revolution.”
Farhan pointed out that the Coalition “realizes that any cease-fire must be comprehensive and cover the entire Syrian territory to prevent the Assad regime from exploiting these agreements to re-group its forces and deploy them to attack a specific area. He pointed out that these agreements must be reached in parallel with progress in the transitional process so that disengagement lines are not turned into boundaries affecting the unity of Syria on the long run.”
Farhan reaffirmed the Coalition is keen on the success of all ceasefire agreements, but warned of localized ceasefire agreements. The fact that Russia, Assad’s staunchest ally, is the sole sponsor, guarantor, and observer of these agreements raises question about their feasibility, he added.
Moscow is trying to rehabilitee the Assad regime in the liberated areas through supporting partial, localized de-escalation agreements that are aimed at derailing the political process in Geneva, Farhan stressed. He noted that Russia is exploiting the dire humanitarian conditions of civilians in the liberated areas to force them to agree to these agreements. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
