The Syrian ceasefire deal, which was worked out by Moscow and Washington, could lead to a comprehensive peace process in the war-torn Arab Republic, but key stakeholders will have to deal with major challenges along the way, former US Ambassador to Syria Richard Murphy told Sputnik.
"This is the beginning. Lives have not been lost today that were at risk yesterday," he noted. "The ceasefire is the first step to peace talks. So I am optimistic this can be built on, but it is going to be a long process."
The truce, which came into effect on February 27, is largely holding despite occasional violations. If Damascus and opposition forces adhere to the deal in the coming days, the intra-Syrian peace talks will resume on March 7.
But the Syrian crisis and any attempts to resolve it are complicated by the sheer number of stakeholders involved.
"We have an old saying that too many cooks can spoil the broth. This current ceasefire is an opportunity to start to build a general ceasefire and that would be basic to peace talks. But there are many obstacles and conflicting ambitions to deal with along the way," Murphy detailed.
The US diplomat, who also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, named the future of Syria's legitimate president Bashar al-Assad as a major point of contention.
"All of these opposing views are going to need time to work out. The sooner they can get everybody to stay around the table talking, the better," Murphy observed; Sputnik reporetd.
212-11
string(2634) "[{"id":"1793925","sort":"3503367","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922705381428640_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Jeish Al-Islam Terrorists Violate Syria Ceasefire"} ,{"id":"1793932","sort":"3503368","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922725826812974_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Kurdish Official: Turkey Violates Syria Ceasefire by Shelling Kurds"} ,{"id":"1793934","sort":"3503369","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922734888965277_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"ISIS Terrorists Come from Turkey after Syria Ceasefire: Russia"} ,{"id":"1793979","sort":"3503370","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922788256795081_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"UN Chief's Spokesman Says First Day of Syria Ceasefire Decreased Violence"} ,{"id":"1794009","sort":"3503371","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922826516947668_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Moscow Registers 9 Syria Ceasefire Violations in Past 24 Hours"} ,{"id":"1794010","sort":"3503372","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922827125294796_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"5 Russian Weapons Which Made Their Deadly Debut in Syria"} ,{"id":"1794026","sort":"3503373","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922862659111664_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Terrorist Attacks across Syria Kill 14 Civilians in 24 Hours"} ,{"id":"1794464","sort":"3503374","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924290488434453_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Saudi Arabia Claims Discussion of Syria Invasion with US"} ,{"id":"1794473","sort":"3503375","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924302759314902_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Al-Nusra Militants Attack Kurdish Residential Areas in Syria’s Aleppo"} ,{"id":"1794478","sort":"3503376","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924308625471459_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Russia: A Federal Government May Suitable for Syria"} ,{"id":"1794480","sort":"3503377","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924315679786820_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"ISIS Militants Gather in Syria’s Raqqah Province to Attack Kurds"} ,{"id":"1794482","sort":"3503378","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924322684217287_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"ISIS Terrorists Execute 8 Own Dutch Members in Syria’s Raqqah"} ,{"id":"1794486","sort":"3503379","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924329420590857_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkish Shelling Syria Continues for Supporting ISIS: Kurdish Source"} ,{"id":"1794536","sort":"3503380","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924488919746382_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Syrian President Assad: Terrorists Breached Ceasefire Deal from Very First Hour"} ]"