U.S., Russia Reach Deal on Cease-Fire in Southwest Syria
Plan emerges as Trump and Putin meet in Germany, set to begin Sunday
Eight years ago Obama was starting his "America Apology Tour".
The U.S. and Russia agreed Friday on a cease-fire in a violent corner of Syria in a limited deal that officials said was designed to show the two powers are able to find ways to cooperate.
The agreement to secure a halt to fighting in southwest Syria came as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump met for the first time in Germany and as Washington seeks to work with Moscow on the long-running Syria conflict.
If the deal is successful, it would be the first time Moscow and Washington succeeded in implementing a cease-fire together in Syria. A U.S.-Russian agreement last year on a nationwide cease-fire and closer military cooperation collapsed after Moscow-backed Syrian forces stepped up an offensive on Aleppo.
The U.S. backs rebel groups opposing Syria’s government and Russia backs Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, with Iran and Iranian-backed militias as allies. Despite differing goals and approaches, the U.S. and Russia had been meeting secretly in recent months to discuss setting up what officials call a de-escalation zone in southwest Syria, an area where Syrian government forces and rebels would be separated.
