Russia-US Deal to Help Settle Syrian Conflict by Political Means

On Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced an agreement on cessation of hostilities between the Syriangovernment of President Bashar Assad and the armed opposition factions had been reached. The agreement will come into force on February 27."This is an attempt to lawfully settle the issue on the basis of the UN Security Council's decisions. And, as was the case with Iran, we see that serious conditions toreject military tools in favor of political instruments are being created… Russia and the United States are becoming the main players in transforming this process from military into a political one," Pushkov told RIA Novosti.According to Pushkov, there will be many difficulties in the implementation of the agreement, as military positions of different opposition factions are connected with jihadists' positions."I think that some regional players will try to use the ceasefire to strengthen the positions of other groups, whom they support. First of all, I mean Turkey and Saudi Arabia," the lawmaker said.Syria has been mired in war since 2011, with the country’s government fighting numerous extremist and terrorist groups, including the ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra, both outlawed in almost all the world countries, except for Saudi Arabia.