Putin orders humanitarian truce in Syria's Eastern Ghouta

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered daily "humanitarian pauses" in Syria's Eastern Ghouta to allow evacuation of civilians from the zone held by militants, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday.

He said in a statement that the humanitarian pause will be in force from 9 a.m to 2 p.m. every day starting Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The location of the humanitarian corridor is to be announced later, the statement said.

Moscow also proposed creating in the near future an international humanitarian appraisal commission under the aegis of the UN, "which could assess what is happening in Raqqa, to which neither mass media nor humanitarian organisations have access."

The UN Security Council on Saturday adopted Resolution 2401, which requires all parties in Syria to immediately cease clashes and provide a sustained humanitarian break for at least 30 days.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the ceasefire in Syria could be possible if all parties involved came to terms, but he also admitted that there are many obstacles.

--IANS

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