Syria: Germany, France press Putin on cease-fire deal

The German Chancellor, Angel Merkel says the German and French leaders have pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the quick and complete implementation of a 30-day cease-fire in Syria.

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution demanding a 30–day ceasefire in Syria to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Merkel’s office said that she and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation in a phone call  with Putin.

she  said they called on Russia to “exert maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to achieve an immediate halt to the airstrikes and fighting.”

The German and French leaders argued that a cease-fire also would offer a basis to move forward the U.N.-brokered effort to find a political solution to Syria’s war.