A cease-fire guaranteed by Russia and Turkey will go into effect at midnight Friday in Syria, according to reports Thursday morning.
The cease-fire agreement will not include terrorist groups like the Islamic State, and the Russian government has called many opponents of the Syrian regime terrorist groups.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to reduce its presence in Syria, where it has been propping up the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the Associated Press.
However, this is the first cease-fire announced since the Syrian government has driven rebels out of Aleppo. The siege of Aleppo was widely recognized as a humanitarian disaster with many civilians being killed while the city was being taken.
The cease-fire is a major development in the war-torn Middle Eastern country due to the lack of involvement of the United States.
The U.S. and Russia have brokered numerous cease-fires previously, all of which failed. The United States was reportedly not involved in the cease-fire discussions between Turkey and Russia.
It’s a diplomatic achievement for Turkey and Russia. The two countries are historic rivals and the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated in the Turkish capital of Ankara last week.
