Syrian president receives phone call from Russia's Putin

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria's state-run news agency says Syrian President Bashar Assad has received a phone call from Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

SANA says that during the call with Putin on Wednesday, the Syrian president confirmed Damascus' readiness to support the implementation of the agreement for a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria.

The agreement, engineered by the U.S. and Russia, is set to take effect at midnight Friday local time. It does not cover the Islamic State group, Syria's al-Qaida branch known as the Nusra Front, or any other militia designated as a terrorist group by the U.N. Security Council.

SANA says the two leaders stressed the importance of continuing to fight the Islamic State, the Nusra Front "and other terrorist organizations."