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U.S. hoping for space out of Syrian truce for more work on transition

25 October 2012 22:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The United States said on Thursday that it was hoping for space out of a ceasefire agreed in Syria for more work on a political transition in the Arab nation, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"I think we all would agree that any day in Syria without violence is progress," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said about the truce proposed by UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and agreed to by the Syrian government and most of the opposition groups to be effective on Friday on the occasion of Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, also known as Feast of the Sacrifice.

"And obviously, if we can get the ceasefire in place, it might open space for more work to be done on a transition," she told reporters at a regular press briefing.

The Syrian opposition forces began attacks on government military in November 2011, nine months after anti-government protests broke out. A ceasefire brokered in April by Kofi Annan, Brahimi’s predecessor and a former UN secretary general, never materialized.

"What we are hoping and expecting is that they will not just talk the talk of ceasefire, but that they will walk the walk, beginning with the regime, and we will be watching very closely," Nuland said.

Washington and its allies are pushing for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to make way for a peaceful transition in his country.

Nuland said the U.S. was continuing to work with the Syrian opposition on their own transition plan and leadership structure, "so that they can be better prepared to work towards that transition if we can get the conditions going."