Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, July 12, 2017

South Syria ceasefire ‘globally respected,’ Russia says

12 July 2017, 7:27 pm 0 Edit

The ceasefire in south Syria is being “globally respected,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says, in comments broadcast on Russia television.

The zone where the ceasefire was declared had seen “a rapid fall in the level of violence,” Lavrov says.

Russia hopes that trend would continue and that the ceasefire zone would be extended at the next cycle of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan next month, he adds at a news conference with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders in Brussels.

The truce, which was brokered by Russia, the United States and Jordan, has been in force since Sunday in the provinces of Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida.

— AFP