He said they had ordered insurgents to stage attacks aimed at foiling planned Geneva talks.
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Al-Moallem said his country is committed to a Syrian dialogue under Syria’s leadership and “without preconditions”. He said the government delegation would arrive Friday, two days after parliamentary elections are to be held in Syria.
The truce, which was brokered by the USA and Russian Federation, does not include areas where the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and Al-Qaeda’s affiliate Al-Nusra Front are present. But the opposition says it contributes to an increasingly unfavorable climate for negotiations amid fierce fighting that threatens an increasingly crumbling cease-fire engineered by the United States and Russian Federation.
Syrian media reported a large build-up of troops and equipment by the Syrian army and its allies around Aleppo on Monday, with the pro-Damascus al-Mayadeen TV station reporting it had seen tanks and rocket launchers heading towards the city. Last year, Turkey joined the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.
But rebels still hold territory in and around the city, including its western approaches.
The Russian military says it is helping the Syrian army fight the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front around Aleppo, but has no plan to storm the city.
Pourdastan then noted that Iran’s Army has not deployed a particular unit to Syria, but a number of advisers from different units, including the 65th Brigade, have been dispatched to the Arab country. Another official from the opposition, on other hand, said that the ceasefire is barely holding up.
De Mistura, whose two predecessors quit, has said he wants the next round of Geneva talks to be “quite concrete” in leading towards a political transition.
He said the USA still believed Assad could not be part of any future Syria, but there has to be “some kind” of governance until a new one is formed.
Elsewhere, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday that four members of the Iranian Special Forces were killed in Syria while fighting against the Islamic State.
The United States is “very very concerned” about the increased fighting in Syria ahead of more peace talks and blames the Assad military for the violence.
Secretary of State John Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday to express concern over potential breaches of the ceasefire, State Department spokesman Toner said.
“A decrease in casualty numbers brought a much-needed respite for Syrians, but many civilians are still dying in unlawful attacks”, Nadim Houry, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, said in a statement.
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The envoy also said he raised the importance “of protecting and maintaining and supporting the cessation of hostilities”, describing it as fragile and stressing that all sides “need to make sure that it continues to be sustained”.
