Turkey and Russia have drafted proposals for a ceasefire in Syria, Ankara said on Wednesday, underlining the diminishing role of the west in bringing an end to the five-year conflict.
“We are close to a lasting ceasefire and political solution in Syria,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister. “There are two texts ready on a solution in Syria. One is about a political resolution and the other is about a ceasefire. They can be implemented any time.”
His remarks follow a string of consultations between Turkey, which has been an important backer of rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad, and Russia and Iran, which have provided crucial support to the Syrian regime.
Last week, after Syrian forces and allied foreign Shia militia recaptured the northern city of Aleppo from rebels, the three countries’ foreign and defence ministers met in Moscow and jointly declared their readiness to broker a peace deal.
However, no details about the Turkish-Russian proposals were made available and it was not clear if the rebels would accept the plans. Previous ceasefires have broken down shortly after they were implemented.
A Syrian rebel official, who did not want to be identified, said “general issues” on the agreement were clear, including implementing a nationwide truce, and fighting Isis. But he said the details of the agreement were still being worked out.
“We are waiting until things are clearer . . . but in general any process that leads to a proper ceasefire and leads to a real political process that fulfils the desire of the Syrian people we support,” the official said.
The Kremlin said it could not confirm a report by Anadolu, the Turkish news agency, that Moscow and Ankara had agreed on a proposal for a general ceasefire.
It also remains unclear how Moscow and Ankara can bridge long-running disagreements over the role of Mr Assad. Mr Cavusoglu reiterated Ankara’s longstanding position that the Syrian president was a hurdle to a political solution.
“The whole world knows it is not possible for there to be a political transition with Assad, and we also all know that it is impossible for these people to unite around Assad,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish counterpart, are working to get the Syrian government and armed opposition groups to discuss a political settlement at a conference in Kazakhstan at the end of January. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said this week that Moscow would step up regional efforts for a solution of the crisis.
Russian observers said there was room for compromise in terms of Mr Assad’s future role.
“Assad can be flexible, and it has been communicated to him that he needs to make certain adjustments to accommodate the political process,” said a Russian Middle East expert who has been advising the government on Syria, but did not want to be named.
Turkey and Russia worked together to broker a deal that led to the evacuation of rebels and wounded from Aleppo this month as the Syrian regime, backed by Russian war planes, was on the brink of retaking the city. The deal meant the rebels were effectively surrendering their last major urban stronghold, handing Mr Assad control of the most symbolic and strategic city of the conflict.
But rebels still hold territory across the country, while Isis controls swaths of eastern Syrian, as do Kurdish militia in the north-east.
An umbrella group of Syria’s political opposition on Tuesday called on rebels to respond to initiative. Riad Hijab, co-ordinator of the High Negotiations Committee, said armed opposition groups should co-operate with what he called “sincere regional efforts” for a ceasefire deal.
Both Moscow and Ankara said “terrorist groups” would not be included in the settlement. However, neither detailed which groups they were referring to, and their definitions could differ.
Islamist groups, including Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which has links to al-Qaeda, fought alongside rebels in Aleppo.
Mr Cavusoglu said Syrian Kurdish militia, which Turkey considers to be allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which it designates as a terrorist group, would not be present at the meetings in Kazakhstan.
“Turkey’s struggle against the YPG [Kurdish militia] and Daesh [Isis] will continue,” he said.
Additional reporting by Laura Pitel
