The PES welcomes the agreement of 17 major powers to halt the violence in Syria

The PES welcomes the agreement of 17 major powers to halt the violence in  Syria

PES President Sergei Stanishev said, “We hope that this deal will help safe innocent lives and constitute a breakthrough towards a future in peace for all Syrians. Only a sustained international diplomatic effort can bring peace and stability in the foreseeable future and a real perspective for the people in Syria”.

German Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is taking part in the talks, welcomed the agreement: “All parties have agreed on concrete steps on humanitarian access and ceasefire that apply to all conflict parties”, he said.

The document details several areas where airdrops will organised for the civilian population to have medicines and supplies. Two contact groups will monitor the implementation of the plan.

The challenge now is to make sure that we can create the conditions on the ground for the cease-fire to take place,” Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said. Together with the EU, all major actors have signed up to the agreement, such as the US, Russia, Turkey, France, the UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, China and the UN.

We socialists and democrats believe that this agreement has the potential to constitute a major breakthrough in the Syrian war.