Syria’s government announced today that it will accept a proposed ceasefire with the major opposition group but that it will still continue military operations against ISIS and Al Qaeda. The announcement came after the U.S. and Russia agreed on a ceasefire that is supposed to start on Saturday. Even though these parties have agreed to a pause in fighting, ISIS controls close to a third of the country and they were not party to the negotiations. The truce also comes as the UN released a human rights report on the war in Syria, that alleges that both the Syrian army and ISIS have intentionally targeted hospitals and other supposed safe zones and committed crimes against humanity. We examine the outlook for peace with Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He edits the blog ‘Syria Comment’.