The United Nations special envoy for Syria said Friday he plans to resume peace talks on March 7 if a cessation of hostilities negotiated by the United States and Russia that began at midnight local time "largely holds." Staffan de Mistura said initial reports through his office suggested that three minutes into the cessation of hostilities, "suddenly both Daraya and Damascus had calmed down." However he noted a "tentative report" about one incident, which he did not specify, that his team was investigating, AP reported. Earlier, de Mistura briefed the U.N. Security Council via videoconference from Geneva following a meeting of envoys from the 17-member International Syria Support Group, charged with monitoring implementation of the agreement. "This will remain a complicated, painstaking process," he told the council. But he added that "nothing is impossible, especially at this moment."
