In an interview with RIA Novosti, Syrian political commentator Hussam Shoaib warned that if the Syrian ceasefire breaks down, the Syrian conflict would unfold into a full-fledged war in the region.
The interview came several days after Russia and the United States managed to clinch an agreement on a ceasefire in Syria. The ceasefire, which doesn't apply to the government's ongoing fight with the terrorist groups Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, took effect at midnight on Saturday Damascus time (22:00 GMT on Friday).
"If the ceasefire is broken, we may face a catastrophic war, which will cover the entire region," Shoaib said.
At the same time, he did not rule out that the implementation of the ceasefire succeeding, given that Russia and the United States for the first time had reached a common agreement on the conflict in Syria.
According to him, the US government will certainly try to adhere to the ceasefire deal because "they feel that Russia is the only chance for Washington to help justify the US's criminal policy in Syria that they committed in the past five years."
Shoaib pointed out that the implementation of the ceasefire will allow the armed opposition groups to lay down their weapons and begin peace talks with the Syrian government.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Damascus and the Syrian opposition groups had supported the ceasefire agreement on Syria, where an armed conflict has raged since 2011.
The West has repeatedly accused Russian warplanes of targeting moderate opposition groups and civilian buildings rather than Daesh and Al-Nusra terrorists. Moscow denies the accusations, saying that the goal of its air campaign in Syria is to launch strikes on terrorist groups, not the country's civilian infrastructure.
