Syrian opposition forces kicked off Tuesday a new round of talks with Russian officers over a peace deal in the south of Syria as regime forces succeeded to enter four new towns in the countryside of eastern Deraa, expanding the scope of their control in the province and getting closer to the Nasib border crossing with Jordan.
Spokesman Ibrahim al-Jabawi told Reuters that rebels had carried to the negotiating table their “response to a list of Russian demands” that include the handing over of weapons and settling the status of rebels in a deal that ends the fighting.
“Today they are carrying their response to the terms presented by the Russian officers,” Jabawi said.
Sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that changes and modifications were introduced to some of the terms included within the Russian proposal, which has been presented as a draft of the final agreement in Daraa.
It said representatives of the opposition try to have better and more comprehensive conditions and guarantees as part of the agreement.
A final Russian-guaranteed deal between the Syrian regime and opposition forces should include a complete and permanent cease-fire in both provinces of Daraa and Quneitra.
Opposition representatives described the Russian demands as “a humiliating surrender.” However, diplomatic sources said Jordan succeeded to persuade the opposition to return to the negotiation table, after they walked out last week.
The Observatory said there has been a cautious calm at Daraa's fronts since midnight Monday, and warplanes and helicopters have not appeared in the province’s skies for the past 48 hours.
There was a breach of calm on Tuesday after regime forces launched three raids on the town of Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa, using artillery and rocket shells, and on Al-Harrah area in the same countryside, causing material damage, without information about injuries.
