DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed to retake all of Syria from "terrorists", hours before a ceasefire was to take effect in the evening.
"The Syrian government is determined to recover every area from the terrorists," Assad told Syrian state media after he attended Eid al-Adha holiday prayers in Darayya, a former terrorist stronghold recently recaptured by the government, i24 reported.
The ceasefire will not include terrorist groups like ISIL and Fatah al-Sham Front (formerly known as al-Nusra Front).
The landmark deal, proposed by the United States and Russia after marathon talks in Geneva on Friday, could also lead to the first joint military operations by Moscow and Washington against terrorists.
The deal also calls for increased humanitarian aid for the Syrian city of Aleppo.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has approved the agreement, according to the official SANA news agency of Syria.
Iran, another Syrian ally besides Russia, has welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Syria but has cautioned against attempts by certain countries to re-arm terrorist groups during the lull in fighting. A number of such groups operate in Syria alongside the terrorists fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, whose fighters are in Syria to assist the Syrian government and prevent the spillover of the conflict into Lebanon, has also voiced support for the ceasefire plan, saying the "allies of Syria” abide by whatever decision the Damascus government makes.
During the past few years, Hezbollah resistance fighters have been helping the Syrian army in their battle against Takfiri terror groups, particularly those operating in the areas near the Lebanese border.
Meanwhile, Syria’s main opposition group, the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), has also "cautiously welcomed” the ceasefire agreement.
The deal has also been welcomed by the European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.