Agencies, Washington :US President Barack Obama says a proposed ceasefire due to come into effect on Saturday could be a key step towards ending Syria’s war.Obama told a meeting of members of his National Security Council in Washington on Thursday that halting air strikes was essential for the truce to be successful.He added that ending fighting among various forces was the best route in tackling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”The only way to deal with ISIL in a way that defeats them in a lasting way is to end the chaos in the civil war that has engulfed Syria,” Obama said.”That’s how ISIL was able to thrive in the first place.”But Obama noted, however, it remains to be seen whether the “cessation of hostilities” will hold. “None of us are under any illusions, there are many potential pitfalls and reasons for scepticism,” he said.Russia and the US set a deadline of midnight Damascus time (22GMT) on Friday for a cessation of hostilities between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and opposition forces.The deal marks the biggest diplomatic push yet to end Syria’s nearly five-year old war.Jim Walsh from MIT’s security studies programme said Obama appeared cautious about the success of the ceasefire in his statements.Meanwhile, Russian warplanes carried out intense air strikes on rebel strongholds in Syria on Friday hours before a ceasefire is due to come into force, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.”From last night to this morning there have been Russian air strikes that are more intense than usual on rebel bastions including on Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, in the north of Homs province and in the west of Aleppo province,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
