Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif in a message in his twitter account welcomed ceasefire in Syria.
![Zarif tweets on Syrian ceasefire Zarif tweets on Syrian ceasefire](/files/en/news/2016/12/30/24265_816.jpg)
Ceasefire in Syria is a major achievement. Let's build on it by tackling the roots of extremist terror, he twitted.
Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Thursday hailed the ceasefire as they discussed the latest developments in Syria.
The two sides welcomed comprehensive ceasefire across Syria and stressed continuous battle against terrorism, the ISIL and al-Nusra terrorist groups and their allies.
Zarif and Lavrov agreed to continue consultation and coordination in line with three-lateral cooperation of Iran-Russia and Turkey for holding talks between Syrian government and opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Syrian military has announced a nationwide halt to fighting starting at midnight, in a move that could promote the diplomatic efforts aimed at ending years of Takfiri violence in the Arab state.
In a statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA, the Syrian army said the ceasefire, which will come into effect at 0000 GMT on December 30, does not include the Takfiri Daesh and Fateh al-Sham terror groups as well as their affiliates.
"The Army and the Armed Forces General Command on Thursday declared a comprehensive cessation of hostilities across all the territories of the Syrian Arab Republic starting at 00:00 on 30/12/2016 in the wake of the victories and advances achieved by the Syrian armed forces on more than a front,” read the statement.
"The ceasefire comes with the aim of creating suitable circumstances for supporting the political track of the crisis in Syria,” it added.