China, Russia welcome Syria ceasefire

China and Russia have welcomed a ceasefire aimed at ending the turmoil in Syria in line with a peace plan proposed by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement issued on Thursday that the ceasefire will help “ease the tense situation in Syria and is an important step towards a political solution.” “We hope the Syrian government will earnestly fulfill their commitments and continue to take concrete actions to support and cooperate with Annan’s mediation efforts.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement was issued hours after a ceasefire went into effect in Syria in line with a six-point peace plan outlined by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to Damascus in March. Kofi Annan said on Wednesday that he had received a written pledge from the Syrian foreign ministry to “cease all military fighting throughout the Syrian territory as of 6:00 a.m. tomorrow (0300 GMT).” Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced hours before the ceasefire went into effect that the Syrian president “is assuring us that he is ready” to comply with the peace initiative. The Russian foreign minister added that some Arab and Western countries had dismissed the peace plan as a failure before it went into effect. Lavrov made the remarks on the sidelines of the meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Washington. The Syrian government has issued a warning that security forces would “respond proportionately to any attacks carried out by armed terrorist groups against civilians, government forces or public and private property.” Furthermore, the UK government, which, along with Israel and the US, has repeatedly made efforts to isolate and overthrow the Damascus government, did not appear at ease over the truce, expressing displeasure about the peace effort. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he feels “an immense sense of frustration because the world has come together behind this Kofi Annan plan.” In addition to Cameron, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said, “If there is not a ceasefire… we will want to return to Security Council in a new attempt to obtain a resolution on Syria, we will intensify our support for the opposition and we will seek stronger sanctions.” The senior British officials made their remarks despite numerous mass rallies by Syrian people in recent months, expressing support for the Damascus government. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on March 6 that Syrian people have “proven their capacity to defend the nation and to build a new Syria through their determination to pursue reforms along with the fight against foreign-backed terrorism.”