The United States and Russia have announced that a planned cessation of hostilities in Syria will come into effect at midnight on 27 February, according to an official joint statement. Their statement said the truce did not include ISIS and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. The announcement follows multiple explosions on Sunday in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs which claimed the lives of more than 1oo people. The ceasefire call also comes as government forces made gains around Aleppo in the north RT reports: According to the statement, the truce will “be applied to [all] those parties to the Syrian conflict that have indicated their commitment” to accept its terms. It will exclude Islamic State, Al Nusra Front and “other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.” The ceasefire plan also stipulates that other parties should indicate “their commitment to and acceptance of the terms for the cessation of hostilities” by no later than 12:00 (Damascus time) on February 26. In terms of GMT, the ceasefire is due to take place on Thursday at 22:00, and all the parties should voice their agreement by 10:00. President Vladimir Putin said he had a telephone call with Barack Obama and [...]