Syria agrees to cessation of hostilities

Syria's foreign ministry on Tuesday announced the government's consent to a cessation of hostilities as agreed upon by the US and Russia.

The ministry said the military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) terror group and the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front will continue in accordance with the US-Russian agreement, Xinhua news agency reported.

It however warned that the Syrian army has the right to respond to any violation by the opposition forces against the people, or the military forces.

Also, the ministry said it will continue to coordinate with the Russian side to identify the areas and the armed groups that will be included in the cessation of hostilities "to ensure the success of agreement".

Meanwhile, the ministry stressed the importance of controlling the borders and halting the support some countries render to the armed groups "to avoid such groups from exploiting the cessation of hostilities agreement."

"The Syrian government, through its acceptance, stresses its keenness to see a curb to the bloodletting in Syria and restore peace and stability," the ministry added.

On Monday, Russia and the US agreed to enforce a cessation of hostilities starting from February 27.