Russian Envoy to UN Says Ceasefire in Syria 'Holding Adequately'

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin

The ceasefire in Syria that entered in force on Friday has been kept according to initial reports, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups reached an agreement on a ceasefire on Syrian territory, taking effect at 00:00 on Friday. Russia and Turkey took the role of the ceasefire guarantors, but other countries may also be invited, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The initial indications ceasefire is holding adequately," Churkin said on Friday.

Crimea Updates: Kerry, Lavrov meet in Paris today

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry changed course after a week of travel in the Mideast and arrived in Paris Saturday for talks with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov  on the Ukraine crisis. From Saudi Arabia, Kerry landed in Shannon, Ireland for a refueling stop, when he decided to turn his plane around and head to Paris. 

Crimea Latest: Russian parliament ratified treaty to make Crimea part of Russian Federation

Russia's lower parliament ratified a treaty to make Crimea a part of the Russian Federation on Thursday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had presented the treaty on annexing Crimea to lawmakers, urging them to accept the region as a part of the Russian Federation.

Speaking "on behalf" of President Vladimir Putin, he told the State Duma folding the Black Sea Peninsula into Russia was needed to protest ethnic Russians there. "I hope this will become a turning point in the fate of many people who are united by many things," Lavrov said.