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Syrian official: negotiations with US blocked by Saudi Arabia

A Syrian official spoke on the continued gains of the Syrian army, the failings of the international coalition and chances of talks between the opposing parties.
A general view shows what activists said is the area of Aleppo controlled by the Syrian Regime April 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3MQN6

DAMASCUS, Syria — From his office adjacent to the presidential al-Rawda Palace in the heart of Damascus, a Syrian official goes about his work interpreting the landscape in his country and its surroundings at the military and internal and external political levels. He told Al-Monitor, “The military situation of our armed forces and the situation on the ground is more than good. The fall of the town of Murak to the Syrian army is a major achievement that can even be described as strategic. Control over this critical site guarantees total control of the Hama-Aleppo road. This implies that Aleppo city has almost fallen to the Syrian army militarily.”

It is therefore probably logical that the authorities in Damascus do not agree with the proposal by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura to turn the city into a “freeze zone,” as it is being called, to be managed by moderate opposition members and to then talk later with Syrian authorities about restarting the Geneva path for a peaceful solution.

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