Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The United Nations Security Council has unanimously backed a Russian-Turkish initiative over a ceasefire and new negotiations on Syria.

The Security Council began closed-door consultations on Saturday as several factions among the Syrian opposition released a statement denouncing the regime’s continued violations of an ongoing ceasefire.

The opposition said that there should be no exceptions made to the ceasefire and all parties should stick to the terms agreed upon.

The statement released by the Free Syrian Army, the opposition’s military wing, was provided to AlArabiya.net in full.

As with previous failed ceasefire attempts, the current agreement excludes both the al-Qaeda-affiliated Fatah al-Sham Front, which fights alongside other rebel factions, and ISIS.

Russia, Iran vow to continue Syria coordination
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Hassan Rowhani agreed in a telephone conversation on Saturday to continue their close coordination in trying to end the Syria crisis, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two men agreed on the importance of a new ceasefire agreement in Syria brokered by Russia and Turkey and plans for peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, the Kremlin said.

*Al Arabiya