Ceasefire agreement in Syria violated 31 times: Russian Foreign Ministry

The ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government troops and the country's opposition forces has been breached 31 times in the first three days of its implementation, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.

"Thirty-one cases of ceasefire violations have been recorded. The American group for the reconciliation located in the Jordanian capital of Amman has been informed of these facts," Zakharova said at a weekly briefing.

Russia and the United States, as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), signed an agreement on Feb.12 to establish a truce in Syria. The ceasefire agreement, accepted by the Syrian government and a range of opposition groups, took effect starting Saturday.

The two countries also launched a control mechanism for the truce regime on the part of the warring parties and set up two reconciliation monitoring groups.

The cessation of hostilities does not apply to the Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, both of which are recognized as terrorist groups by the United Nations.

The spokeswoman called on the United States to adhere to its obligations to the truce process.

"We hope that all statements by some senior officials in Washington on some kind of 'plan B,' or any other alternative for Syria in case hostilities resume, remain just words," she said.

Zakharova added that Russia believes it is necessary to be careful, conscientious and responsible in the implementation of the Russia-U.S.-brokered agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

She also noted that the statements published by foreign media that the ceasefire in Syria could last for only two weeks were incorrect.

"We are not talking about a two-week timeframe for the truce. It should be indefinite and all of our efforts are aimed at that," Zakharova said. Endi