Turkey pushing for Syrian truce by year’s end

BEIRUT – Turkey’s ruling party says the government is pushing for a Syrian cease-fire to be in place “as we enter 2017.”

Yasin Aktay, the spokesman for the Justice and Development Party, could not however confirm a report by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency that said Turkey and Russia had reached an agreement for a nationwide cease-fire and were working to ensure that it would come into effect after midnight Wednesday.

Aktay told reporters: “Talks are taking place. Turkey’s insistence is … to bring the sides together and for a cease-fire to come about as we enter 2017.”