Syria: Five Years of Efforts to End the Conflict
A ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington is due to take effect in Syria at sundown on Monday, the latest bid to end fighting between government forces and non-jihadist rebels.
There have been multiple previous attempts since the conflict erupted in 2011 but all have ended in failure.
Here is a recap:
- Arab initiatives
November 2, 2011: The Arab League says it has reached an agreement with Syria to end the fighting, free detainees and withdraw troops from cities.
No clauses are respected. The League later suspends Syria and approves unprecedented sanctions.
In early 2012, Damascus formally rejects the plan and says it is determined to crush the rebellion.
- Annan plan
April 12, 2012: U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan manages to establish a truce, but it collapses within hours.
- Geneva I
June 30, 2012: An "action group" meeting in Geneva says it has reached agreement on a Syrian transition of power.
But those present -- Arab states, Britain, China, France, Russia, Turkey and the United States -- have different interpretations of the deal.
Washington says it marks the start of a "post-Assad" period, referring to President Bashar Assad. Beijing and Moscow maintain that it is up to the Syrians to determine their own future.
- Chemical weapons deal
September 14, 2013: Russia and the United States agree to dismantle Syria's chemical arsenal after an attack -- widely blamed on Assad's regime -- kills hundreds of people near Damascus.
The last-minute deal averts threatened U.S.-led air strikes against the regime, which denies carrying out the attack.
- Geneva II
January 22-31, 2014: The Russia-backed Syrian government and U.S.-supported opposition figures hold talks in Switzerland without results.
February 15: U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, who replaced Annan, ends the talks. He resigns on May 13 after more than 20 months of fruitless efforts and is replaced in July by Staffan de Mistura.
- Russian offensive/Vienna talks
October 30, 2015 : A month after Russian air strikes begin in Syria at the request of Damascus, 17 countries including Russia, the United States and for the first time Iran, meet in Vienna.
The regime and opposition are absent from the talks, which break up amid deep disagreement over Assad's fate.
November 14: World diplomats gathered in Vienna agree on a fixed calendar for Syria's future but remain sharply at odds over Assad.
- U.N. resolution passed
December 18, 2015: For the first time, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts a plan for a political solution, including negotiations between the opposition and the regime as well as a ceasefire. The text provides for a transitional government within six months and elections within 18 months.
- Failure in Geneva
February 3, 2016: U.N.-sponsored talks between the opposition and government are suspended amid a regime offensive against the rebels in the Damascus region, backed by Russian air power.
- 'Cessation of hostilities'
February 27, 2016: A U.S.-Russia brokered "cessation of hostilities" comes into force. Accepted by the regime, the opposition and Syrian Kurdish forces, it excludes the main jihadist factions.
- Indirect negotiations
March 14-24: A first round of indirect negotiations between the regime and opposition takes place under .UN. auspices, without making progress.
April 13: Peace talks open in Geneva. On April 18, the opposition postpones its "formal participation" in the talks in protest over escalating violence.
- New Russian-American accord
September 9: U.S. and Russian diplomatic chiefs John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov reach a deal on a ceasefire and possible unprecedented cooperation on military action against jihadists.
The regime accepts the ceasefire but the opposition High Negotiations Committee seeks "guarantees" on its implementation just hours before it is due to take effect at sundown on September 12.
Powerful Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham rejects the truce.
Source: Agence France Presse
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