Lebanon's Hezbollah backs Syria peace deal

By Furkan Guldemir

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) - Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Shia Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his group supported the cease-fire deal in Syria between the Damascus regime and opposition groups.

“We support the agreement that will stop the bloodshed and create a national consensus in Syria,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech referring to a Turkey and Russia backed peace agreement in Kazakh capital Astana last month.

The Astana talks, which focused on extending the cease-fire that came into effect in Syria on Dec. 30, 2016, included representatives of the regime, armed opposition groups, Russia, Turkey, Iran as well as UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura and U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, George Krol.

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on establishing a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with a cease-fire in Syria.

Nasrallah also urged to establish a joint mechanism with the Syrian government to return refugees from Lebanon.

The 4.5 million-populated Lebanon is hosting nearly 1.3 million registered Syrian refugees. According to UN reports, more than 70 percent of them live below the poverty line of $3.84 per day.