The fight for power has been at the root of many wars, and for Syria it has been causing strife for over four years. In the Syrian Civil War, the fight to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad has proved to be devastating, resulting in over 200,000 deaths and displacing four million citizens according to the New York Times.

Although allies have been trying to help Syrian rebel groups, not many advances have been made in the last four years. Senior Oceon Walker comments,  “It’s sad seeing other people struggle [for so long] and not being able to help them.”

As President al-Assad and his allies, primarily Russia, are trying to suppress rebel groups, countries such as the U.S. are trying to help the people of Syria overthrow their president. However, a ceasefire was agreed on in Syria on Tuesday, an agreement of temporary non-hostility among the 17 nations that are involved in the war, according to the Washington Post.

This agreement was created by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in hopes of leading to further peaceful negotiations amongst the nations to sooner end the civil war. In this truce, nations stop their attack, and care and resources are available to those who were injured during the war. However, the ceasefire does not apply to the terrorist organizations, such as ISIS and al Qaeda, that are located in Syria.

Junior Shauna Patel remarks, “Eventually we have to know how their world is compared to ours to make us more grateful for what we have in our country… we can learn what from what they’ve been going through, like the religious conflicts and political conflicts, so maybe it’ll adjust our political decisions.”

Although this plan poses a method for quickening the end of the violent war, several politicians are questioning Russia’s motives of remaining loyal to the truce. People are also questioning the integrity of the nations who believe they can make advances in the war from attacking during this ceasefire. For this reason, Kerry created a ‘Plan B’ for the U.S. to follow if the ceasefire fails to hold. If Russia fails to follow the provisions of the truce, the U.S. may possibly start arming the Syrian rebel groups to worsen the war for all sides.

Junior Fakhri Shekarchi adds, “To have peace, sometimes there is a need to defend yourself… but there can’t be too much violence either because it will destroy the country.”

So far, both sides of the war have been adhering to the ceasefire. This is a major political step for Syria, and politicians are hoping it is a sign for future peace. Not only is this a major advantage for Syria, but for other surrounding countries in the Middle East that have been affected by this war. Syria is one of the last countries that is still in turmoil since the Arab spring, and a victorious outcome in this war will bring a long needed optimistic outlook on the Middle East.