Assad assures Putin of ‘readiness’ to respect Syria ceasefire — Kremlin

Moscow — Syrian President Bashar Assad has assured Russia's Vladimir Putin of his government's readiness to respect a ceasefire deal brokered by Moscow and Washington, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said the two leaders discussed the deal in a phone call and that Assad noted that the proposals laid out in the agreement were an "important step in the direction of a political settlement”.

"In particular, [Assad] confirmed the readiness of the Syrian government to facilitate the establishment of a ceasefire," it said in a statement.

The ceasefire agreement, which does not apply to extremists like Daesh and Al Nusra Front, calls for a "cessation of hostilities" between regime forces and opposition groups from midnight Friday
Damascus time.

Putin and Assad "stressed the importance of continuing an uncompromising fight" against Daesh, Al Nusra Front and "other terrorist groups included in the relevant UN Security Council list", the Kremlin said.

Putin, whose air force is conducting a bombing campaign to support Assad's troops on the ground, on Monday pledged to do "whatever is necessary" to get Damascus to uphold the deal after sealing the agreement with US President Barack Obama. 

But some Washington officials have expressed doubt over whether Russia will respect the ceasefire.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the United States was considering a "Plan B" over Syria if Damascus and Moscow do not keep their end of the bargain.

Plan B 'premature' 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, insisted it was "premature" to speak of any other plans.

"We are fully and completely focused on the task defined by the two presidents," he said. 

“The most pressing task right now is to achieve a ceasefire when it comes to the groups who support the initiative of the two presidents.”

The foreign ministry struck a similar note, saying Moscow was not aware of “any Plan B” and that it was important to stick to the current deal.

“We are proceeding from the fact that so many efforts have been put into the preparation of a joint communique that it’s necessary now to implement it and not work out some additional plan Bs,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

“This may end up contravening the agreements that have been reached, because the opposition may get the wrong impression that there is an alternative to the joint communique.”