Canberk Yüksel
31 December 2016•Update: 01 January 2017
NEW YORK
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Saturday unanimously backed a Syria peace plan brokered by Turkey and Russia.
It involves a nationwide cease-fire and a return to peace talks by the Bashar al-Assad regime and opposition groups.
In a statement to the UNSC after the vote, Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, lamented a "difficult year" but praised efforts to end it with an international agreement for Syria, thanking Turkey for its "substantive contribution".
"It is very important that the Security Council backed these efforts by Russia and Turkey," he said, adding that endorsing the resolution "means that if all of us look together to certain objectives rather than to attempt to gain benefit, then we are able to make important decisions".
Resolution 2336 welcomes efforts by Moscow and Ankara to "end violence in Syria and jumpstart a political process".
It also announces a meeting between the warring sides in Astana, Kazakhstan -- which becomes a UNSC member on Sunday -- ahead of a revival of the Geneva talks on Feb. 8.
After five years of fighting and many attempts to end the bloodshed, the cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey came into effect at midnight local time (2200GMT) on Dec. 30.
However, the UN has voiced concerns that the Assad regime has been unresponsive to its requests for access to deliver humanitarian aid on the ground.
Meanwhile, opposition forces claimed that regime troops and foreign terrorist groups supporting Assad violated the nationwide cease-fire by attacking 33 locations.
The war has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, creating nearly five million refugees.
