REPORT: Syrian warplanes bomb rebellious Damascus suburbs

The Observatory also says regime troops are battling rebels in the suburb of Daraya a day after government officials said the army had taken much of the strategic area, which lies on the edge of a major military air base just south of the capital.  The group relies on reports from activists on the ground.   

On the other hand, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Sunday that the Syrian opposition should propose its own ideas for dialogue with Damascus in response to those aired by President Bashar al-Assad in a speech a week ago.   

"President Assad came out with initiatives aimed at inviting all opposition members to dialogue. Yes, these initiatives probably do not go far enough. Probably they will not seem serious to some, but they are proposals," Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in the Ukrainian city of Chernovtsy.    

"If I were in the opposition's shoes, I would come up with my ideas in response on how to establish a dialogue."