The final details of the proposed ceasefire plan for Syria by Turkey and Russia have not yet been announced; however, sources have claimed that foreign fighters will leave Syria so the peace talks in Astana can be entered into without conflict.
Guarantors Ankara and Moscow aim to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid. Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, will not be included in the ceasefire plan.
One of the most controversial elements of the proposed ceasefire plan is that foreign fighters will leave Syria. Only time will tell whether or not Iran-backed Shiite militias will leave Syria.
Javad Karimi Quddusi, member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, recently confirmed that Iran's Major General Qasem Soleimani had been stationed in Aleppo.
“Qasem Soleimani's visit to Aleppo was made upon request of the Syrian authorities for both strategic and military reasons," said Quddusi.
"There are two texts ready on a solution in Syria. One is about a political resolution and the other is about a ceasefire. They can be implemented any time," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. He explained that Syria's opposition would never back Assad.
"The whole world knows it is not possible for there to be a political transition with Assad, and we also all know that it is impossible for these people to unite around Assad," Çavuşoğlu contined.
Sources have said that Syria could be divided into informal zones of regional power, and that Assad would remain President for a few years but would not run in the next election.
The opposition was evacuated from war-torn Aleppo to Idlib, where they have gathered in order to evaluate the situation.
In the upcoming days, more than 40,000 opposition fighters are expected to gather. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham will be among the groups attending.
It is expected that Iran or Russia will label those gathered as “terrorists" without separating the moderate opposition from the extremists.
Yeni Şafak daily spoke to commanders of the opposition, who said “Russia has used Daesh and Nusra as an excuse to target local opposition forces before, and they will do the same thing again."
The Russian embassy in Damascus was attacked twice with mortar bombs on Wednesday.
In a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the attacks took place at 13:00 and 13:19 Moscow time. One mortar bomb landed in the building's garden; the other one fell outside of the building.
The mortar bomb that landed in the garden did not explode. No injuries were reported.
