WASHINGTON — Saturday's deal to renew a nationwide truce in Syria, open aid routes and establish a U.S.-Russian military partnership may be the best hope yet to end the brutal five-year civil war. If U.S.-backed or other rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad break the cease-fire, Russia could threaten to respond militarily or allow his forces to retaliate. Allowing the opposition to launch attacks would only risk reopening a fight that the rebels were losing to Assad's Russian-backed military. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyAfter a week of compliance with the deal, Assad's forces would then be restricted to fighting only IS. Kerry said Assad's air forces will be restricted to an "area that we have agreed on with very real specificity."

Source: New York Times September 10, 2016 18:37 UTC