The year 2017 is commencing with a cease-fire agreement reached as of Dec. 30, 2016, with Turkey and Russia as guarantor. We hope the cease-fire, which is a milestone in terms of the six-year civil war, turns out to be a good start for Syria, a country torn by civil war. However, it is difficult to wait for the cease-fire to reach permanent peace in a short period of time, because there are many question marks concerning Bashar Assad's future, the withdrawal of foreign Shiite and Sunni fighters, where they will go after withdrawal, whether the sides will keep their promises, if not, what sanctions will be imposed and how. Some of these questions may be answered in the Syria negotiations to take place in Astana in January, however, the fragile ground in which every minute is of critical importance may also face various sabotage possibilities.