UN Security Council passes resolution on Syria peace plan

The UN Security Council on Friday agreed on a resolution to start peace talks and end the civil war in Syria -- something that has not happened since the war began.

The 15-member council agreed that it was time to end the war. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon said, "People of Syria have suffered enough."

The agreement stated that there would be ceasefire, and talks between the Syrian government and the opposition would begin in January.

The close to five-year-long war has killed almost 250,000 people. One of the main reasons behind no resolution till now was the Council's failure in deciding on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's future.

While the Western countries stand against his reelection, Russia, Iran and the Syrian government want to leave Assad's issue out of the agreement.

"We are under no illusions about the obstacles that exist," Reuters quoted US Secretary of State John Kerry as saying. "There obviously remain sharp differences within the international community, especially about the future of President Assad."

According to the UN Security Council's resolution on Syria, the following steps will be taken to end the civil war:

* Ceasefire would be called and formal talks about political transition would start in January.

* From the ceasefire and political talks, groups identified as militant, such as Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, would be excluded.

* The attacks on the militant groups would continue, such as the ones led by the US and Russia.

* A report on how to monitor the ceasefire is to be prepared by Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon by January 18.

* "Free and fair elections" are to be held under supervision from the UN within 18 months.

* Within 6 months a "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance" has to be set up.

* The change in the political structure has to be carried forward by Syria.

"The resolution we just reached is a milestone, because it sets specific goals and specific timeframes," Kerry said, according to BBC.

Resistance to the reelection of the current Syrian President still colours the resolution that has been passed, as French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius puts that Assad standing for elections is "unacceptable".