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U.S. Department of State: Syria Truce Better Kept a Secret | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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U.S. Department of State Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner


Washington- U.S. official belonging to the United States Department of State defended the recent Syria truce, despite the many incidents on behalf the ruling regime and the Syrian Opposition.

U.S. Department of State Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner acknowledged Wednesday that the situation hadn’t been perfect.

“We’ve seen violations by both sides,” he said, adding, “we’re continuing to monitor this very closely.”

However, Toner did say that the number of violations has substantially decreased, compared to those violating agreements to cessation of hostilities preceding Sep.12. He further urged everyone to uphold the truce.

According to Mark Toner, the terms of the U.S.-Russian brokered deal behind a temporary ceasefire in Syria will not be released to the public.

“Sensitive issues that we believe, if made public, could potentially be misused to misinterpreted or used by – I know Secretary [John] Kerry talked about the spoilers or would-be spoilers of this. He also suggested that secrecy served the interests of keeping opposition groups safe from attack by Russian-backed regime forces,” Mr.Toner said.

He also urged that Russia and U.S.- the greatest international powers to influence the Syrian regime and opposition respectively- to put their weights into upholding the ceasefire.

Also commenting on the state of the truce White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that there had been little progress in terms of access for humanitarian aid.

Despite the progress seen with regard to the security situation on the ground in Syria, a corresponding improvement in the flow of humanitarian assistance has not been registered. And the chief obstacle to that has been the Assad regime, said Toner.

“Yet the need for progress on the issue of aid remains urgent,” he added