The Russian Army and a Syrian opposition delegation have discussed ways to restore a ceasefire in southern Syria and reach an agreement, several sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.
A Jordanian official source told Reuters there were confirmed reports of a ceasefire in southern Syria that would lead to "reconciliation" between opposition and regime forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said several meetings were held in a number of towns in Daraa province on Friday between Russian officers and the Syrian opposition to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Reliable sources told the Observatory that a new round of negotiations, via intermediaries, is expected Saturday to discuss a full solution on the future of Daraa, which has witnessed 11 days of escalating aerial, rocket and artillery bombardment by the regime forces and allied fighters.
“The terms which are being debated, include full and extensive ceasefire in Daraa and handing over the heavy weapons held by the factions,” the Observatory said.
On Friday, Reuters quoted a State Department official as saying that the United States could not confirm the truce report, and the situation in southern Syria remained “grim” with Russia and Syrian regime forces continuing to bomb the area.
The monitoring group had said the offensive already uprooted more than 120,000 civilians in the southwest since it began last week. Tens of thousands of people have fled toward the border with Jordan and thousands more to the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Separately, Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot arrived in the United States to meet with US military and defense officials and discuss “military cooperation in the face of significant defense challenges in the Middle East," the Israeli Army said in a statement.
