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United States, Russia, and Jordan Sign Limited Ceasefire for Syria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2018

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Extract

As the civil war in Syria continues, some of the key actors have sought ways to reduce the conflict's toll on civilians. In May, 2007, Russia and the United States began exploring the possibility of establishing “safe” or “de-escalation” zones. On July 7, this dialogue yielded a trilateral agreement and memorandum signed by Russia, the United States, and Jordan to establish a ceasefire in southwest Syria. The resulting ceasefire—the first in Syria signed by the Trump administration—governs hostilities between Syrian government forces and associated troops on one side and rebels on the other. It began on July 9.

Type
Use of Force, Arms Control, and Nonproliferation
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 111 , Issue 4 , October 2017 , pp. 1053 - 1056
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by The American Society of International Law 

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References

1 Daugirdas, Kristina & Mortenson, Julian Davis, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 112 AJIL 781 (2017)Google Scholar.

2 See White House Press Release, Readout of President Donald J. Trump's Call with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation (May 2, 2017), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/02/readout-president-donald-j-trumps-call-president-vladimir-putin-russian (describing telephone discussion between Trump and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin regarding “safe, or de-escalation,” zones); see also Suleiman Al-Khalidi, U.S., Russia Discuss De-escalation Zone for Southwest Syria: Diplomats, Reuters (June 9, 2017), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-deraa-idUSKBN1902HR (describing a series of meetings between the Russian and U.S. special envoys for Syria regarding the possible addition of new de-escalation zones).

3 White House Press Release, Press Briefing on the President's Meetings at the G20 (July 7, 2017), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/07/press-briefing-presidents-meetings-g20-july-7-2017; Zachary Cohen & Kevin Liptak, Tillerson: Trump, Putin Reach Syria Ceasefire Agreement, CNN (July 8, 2017), at http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/07/politics/syria-ceasefire-us-russia-tillerson/index.html.

4 A Tripartite Agreement to Back the Ceasefire in South-West of Syria, Petra (July 7, 2017), at http://petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?lang=2&site_id=1&NewsID=308533&CatID=13.

5 See Colum Lynch, Robbie Gramer, Dan De Luce & Paul McCleary, Secret Details of Trump-Putin Syria Cease-fire Focus on Iranian Proxies, Foreign Policy (July 11, 2017), at http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/11/exclusive-trump-putin-ceasefire-agreement-focuses-on-iranian-backed-fighters-middle-east.

6 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Background Briefing on the Ceasefire in Syria (July 7, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/07/272433.htm [hereinafter Background Briefing].

7 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Brett McGurk, Briefing on the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS (July 13, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/07/272601.htm [hereinafter McGurk briefing]. See also Laura Rozen, US Touts Success of Syria Cease-fire Negotiated with Russia, Al-Monitor (Aug. 9, 2017), at http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/08/us-russia-ceasefire-syria-trump-cooperation-sanctions.html.

8 McGurk Briefing, supra note 7.

9 Background Briefing, supra note 6.

10 McGurk Briefing, supra note 7 (“So that's a very active and ongoing discussion, and it's also a very detailed discussion in terms of where monitors would go and how it would work. There are sensitivities in this area. There are some spoilers on the ground that neither side can control. So I would just say, given we have this very detailed kind of de-confliction arrangement or detailed line of contact, we're now looking at kind of where the monitors would go. So that discussion is very much ongoing, and I'm hopeful over the next week or so we can get somewhere.”); Background Briefing, supra note 6 (“[T]here's a lot of discussions ahead of us still, including about some very important elements, including how to monitor the ceasefire, the rules that would govern the southwest de-escalation area, all of these—the presence of monitors. All of this will be the subject of ongoing talks.”).

11 U.S. Says Russia Willing to Deploy Monitors for Syria Ceasefire, Reuters (July 13, 2017), at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa/u-s-says-russia-willing-to-deploy-monitors-for-syria-ceasefire-idUSKBN19Y27Q (“‘The Russians have made clear they're very serious about this and willing to put some of their people on the ground to help monitor from the regime side,’ McGurk told reporters. ‘They do not want the regime violating the ceasefire.’”).

12 The Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Press Release, Amman Centre for South Syria Ceasefire Control Embarks on Mission (Aug. 23, 2017), at http://jordanembassyus.org/news/amman-centre-south-syria-ceasefire-control-embarks-mission.

13 Russian Foreign Ministry Press Release, Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow (July 14, 2017), at http://www.mid.ru/en/press_service/spokesman/briefings/-/asset_publisher/D2wHaWMCU6Od/content/id/2815668.

14 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Department Press Briefing (Aug. 10, 2017), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2017/08/273325.htm.

15 Lavrov: Saudi Arabia Committed to Solve Syria Crisis, Al Jazeera (Sept. 11, 2017), at http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/lavrov-saudi-arabia-committed-solve-syria-crisis-170911145838638.html.