Syrian army announces nationwide ceasefire

The Syrian military has announced a nationwide halt to fighting starting from midnight, in a move that could promote the diplomatic efforts aimed at ending years of Takfiri violence in the Arab state.

In a statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA, the Syrian army said the ceasefire, will come into force at 0000 GMT on December 30, does not include the Takfiri Daesh and Fateh al-Sham terror groups as well as their affiliates.

“The Army and the Armed Forces General Command on Thursday declared a comprehensive cessation of hostilities across all the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic starting at 00:00 on 30/12/2016 in the wake of the victories and advances achieved by the Syrian armed forces on more than a front,” read the statement.

“The ceasefire comes with the aim of creating suitable circumstances for supporting the political track of the crisis in Syria,” it added.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Damascus and foreign-backed militant groups have reached a truce deal brokered by Moscow and Ankara.

Putin said the agreement would be followed by peace talks between the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the foreign-backed opposition.