Baladi News – (Follow-ups)
The United States, Russia and Jordan agreed last weekend on a tripartite memorandum of understanding including the principles of a safe zone in southern Syria after talks held in Amman since mid-May, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported on Thursday.
The agreement includes the principles of the establishment of the safe zone in Daraa and its environs, including the absence of any non-Syrian forces in reference to Hezbollah and Iran-supported militias 30 km from the Jordanian borders.
The agreement also provides for the cessation of offensive operations by both parties, the freezing of shelling and raids on opposition areas, the presence of local councils, the introduction of humanitarian aid, the return of refugees from Jordan, and the launch of trade exchanges between the parties and the existence of "provisional councils" of the opposition pending a political solution under resolution 2254.
According to the report, the regime is entitled to raise its official flag and have symbolic presence at public foundations and have access from the city of Daraa to the Ramtha crossing on the borders with Jordan; which grants Assad’s regime a "moral victory" and opens a trade route for goods coming from Lebanon to Jordan.
Under the agreement, the parties (the regime and the opposition) pledge to fight the terrorist organizations, in reference to the "Khalid Army" of ISIS.
In the same context, Western officials said that matters still under negotiation deal with the mechanism of response to violations, pointing out that the transfer of the memorandum of understanding to an agreement requires more trilateral talks on the one hand, and understandings between Moscow and Tehran and the Assad regime.
In the same context, Western officials said that matters still under negotiations regarding the mechanism of response to violations, pointing out that the transfer of the memorandum of understanding to an agreement requires more trilateral talks on the one hand and understandings among Moscow, Tehran, and the Assad’s regime on the other.