Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Ben Helli
declared on the margins of an international conference on energy hosted
by Dubai, that there is little hope in implementing the Eid al-Adha
truce in Syria, stressing that efforts are being exerted on all levels.
In turn, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said
that the calls of the Arab League and the UN Special Envoy to Syria
Akhdar Ibrahimi for a truce during the Eid el-Adha holiday is an
important issue that "comes at the right time". He stressed that Moscow
fully supports this truce.
Lavrov considered that
President Assad is the guardian of minorities in Syria , adding that some
states are trying to prevent the situation from calming down.
Separately, Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov arrived in Tehran and met with Iranian
officials to discuss the Syrian crisis.
Also on Monday,
the Vatican announced that the delegation of archbishops will visit
Syria as soon as circumstances allow, adding that preparations for this
visit are underway.
On the field
Clashes
between pro-regime troops and opposition fighters continued on Monday
near the capital and across Syrian regions, according to the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
While the Syrian state TV
confirmed that clashes rocked Deir al-Zour near the governmental
complex, it reported that an armed group was killed in Homs' Saltaniya
neighborhood. This as the official Addounia TV was interrupted on
Hotbird, in line with the sanctions imposed against the Syrian media.
Separately, a Jordanian soldier was killed in clashes with Islamist fighters trying to cross the country's northern border into Syria, a cabinet minister said on Monday.
"The soldier died during an infiltration attempt," Minister of Information Samih Maaytah told Reuters, adding that it was the first death in Jordanian army ranks on the border since the uprising against Syrian Preident Bashar al-Assad broke out in March last year.
Troops detained 12 Islamist fighters after the clashes, which occurred overnight, an army statement said.
The
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov arrived on Monday to
Teheran where he will meet with Iranian officials to discuss the Syrian
crisis.
Also on Monday, the Vatican announced that the delegation of
archbishops will visit Syria as soon as circumstances allow, adding that
preparations for this visit are underway.