World powers announce plans for cease-fire in Syria

The United States, Russia and other world powers agreed to implement a nationwide “cessation of hostilities” in Syria’s civil war to start in one week in an effort to stop the carnage and allow delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged civilians.

The cease-fire will not apply to groups designated as terrorists — namely, Islamic State and the al-Qaida offshoot known as the Nusra Front — so that the U.S.-led coalition can continue airstrikes against their positions.

The Russians also would be allowed to continue airstrikes against what they claim are terrorist groups.

Secretary of State John F. Kerry made the announcement after a meeting in Munich that lasted hours beyond schedule, a sign of the torturous negotiations and deep levels of disagreement among the parties involved in the Syria crisis.

“Obviously it’s been difficult,” Kerry said.

Kerry said details of the “cessation of hostilities” had yet to be worked out. That could include ways to monitor and verify the cease-fire.

“This is a pause that is dependent on the process going forward,” Kerry said. But it will have the effect of stopping offensive actions at least temporarily, he said.

“The objective is to achieve a durable long-term cease-fire at some time,” he said.

Russia, which is backing the Syrian government, is proposing a cease-fire to begin March 1. After days of bombing runs that U.S. officials say have killed civilians and moderate U.S.-backed ebels, Moscow has given its ally a clear military advantage.

The suspicion is that Russia would prefer a cease-fire to begin three weeks from now in order to provide time to finish crushing the rebels and return the besieged city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, to President Bashar Assad’s control.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, other Arab gulf states and much of the West want to get rid of Assad, saying his brutality and willingness to use chemical weapons against his people make him more suited for a war crimes tribunal than a presidential palace.

But Russia and Iran remain Assad’s firm backers, and their forces have shifted the balance of power in war-torn Syria back to Assad after nearly five years of civil war.

U.S. and European diplomats rejected the Russian proposal.

“The future of Syria and Syrians is in our hands,” European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in Munich.

Kerry started Thursday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and the two were scheduled to join other members of the so-called International Syria Support Group, a collection of 20 nations working on the conflict.