Sputnik- As the nationwide ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Ankara has been generally holding in Syria for ten days now, it is largely considered as the best news from the war-torn country in years, giving every chance for the conflict to be finally resolved.
After Moscow-Ankara-Tehran negotiations on�Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on�December 29 that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on�a nationwide ceasefire in�the country and on�readiness to�start peace talks.

A nationwide ceasefire in�Syria was brokered by�Russia and Turkey and later approved by�the United Nations. The ceasefire deal in�Syria has been in�effect since�December 30. The truce is expected to�be followed by�peace talks in�the Kazakh capital of�Astana later this month. On Saturday, Russian officials within�the joint Russian-Turkish ceasefire commission registered 10 violations in�Syria over�24 hours. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the overall number of�violations is decreasing, which strengthens trust between�the parties to�the ceasefire pact.

Interestingly, this has been the first truce in�Syria, in�which the guarantors are Russia and Turkey, without�the involvement of�the United States.

Despite voting in�favor of�the UN Security Council�s approval of�the Russia-backed plan on�the Syrian peace settlement, Washington seems to�be "sidelined and left out�of this [Syrian peace] process," British politician, writer and former MP George Galloway told RT.

"Now the Troika of�Iran, Turkey, and Russia working with�the [Syrian President Bashar Assad] regime in�Damascus is solving this matter for�themselves, and that is what is deeply humiliating for�the US. If anyone looks more pitiful today than�President Obama, it is Secretary [John] Kerry, who has been completely sidelined and left out�of this process, because his government only wanted to�throw a spoke in�the wheel of�progress, rather than�facilitate progress. So it is no surprise that the parties who really want a settlement have decided to�do it without�the US on�this occasion," Galloway noted.

The opinion was echoed by�Turkish political scientist Emre Ersen, who told Sputnik Radio that "currently we know that the US and UN are largely excluded from�the new ceasefire process and I don't think that they are very happy about�this. Especially considering that Turkey is a member of�NATO."

He also commented on�the similar agreement brokered between�Russia and the US, which failed in�its infancy, and suggested what might hamper the current nationwide ceasefire plan. "We know that the US has provided military support to�some of�the groups in�Syria but�it has actually never wanted to�be involved very actively in�the Syrian conflict from�the very beginning.

Which, in�time, has seriously weakened its hand at�the diplomatic table," he said. In an interview with�Sputnik, the chief adviser to�the Turkish president, Ilnur Cevik, said that the Moscow-Ankara deal on�the Syrian truce "shows the huge potentials for�world peace when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin cooperate so closely." "Erdogan and Putin are seen as�two leaders contributing to�Middle East peace. The ceasefire is the work of�Mr. Erdogan and Mr.

Putin and their growing influence on�regional issues," he said, adding that "Of course the fact that Iran is also in�the equation will ensure the success of�the current peace initiatives in�Syria." The Syrian ambassador to�China and former envoy to�the US, Dr. Imad Moustapha, told RT that he believes that the nationwide ceasefire "would be a watershed moment in�the course of�the Syrian crisis." "This deal is offering humanity�the opportunity to�stop the bloodshed. So this is a remarkable achievement. We genuinely hope that it will succeed and allowed to�be implemented in�as much as�realistically possible way," he concluded.