United Nations: On Monday, an agreement announced earlier in the day by the United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister (FM) Sergey Lavrov welcomed by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on the terms of a nationwide cessation of hostilities with Syria scheduled to come into effect on Feb 27. In a statement issued by UN’ chief spokesman, Ban strongly urges the parties to abide by the terms of agreement.

Earlier on Monday, Kerry and Lavrov reached a provisional agreement on terms of a cessation of hostilities in Syria, where more than 250,000 people have been killed since March 2011, reports Xinhua. The two foreign ministers are the co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) Ceasefire Taskforce formed in Munich, Germany. “Much work now lies ahead to ensure its implementation, and the international community, the ISSG and the Syrian parties must remain steadfast in their resolve,” the statement said.