On March 5, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “…Little by little, the Syrian opposition (including the political and armed wings) is moving to the other bank away from the western approach of the Syrian file. Except for the International Syria Forces and some other opposition forces that maintained open communication lines with Moscow, the tone of the different opposition groups – since the latest Geneva talks – indicates that these groups have placed all their “eggs” in the regional basket (Saudi Arabia primarily and Turkey to a lesser extent).

“The “cessation of the hostilities” agreement constituted the last instance that highlighted the gap between the Higher Negotiation Committee and the armed groups affiliated to it on the one hand and the western supported and the general international tone on the other hand (including the UN bodies). Indeed, as these latter parties kept trying to “revive” the fragile agreement, the Committee kept insisting on declaring the agreement dead… The newest chapter in this context consisted of the press conference held by the committee’s coordinator, Riad Hejab, in Paris yesterday. Most of the conference was dedicated to allude to the imminent collapse of the truce.

“It is understandable that, in similar cases, all the parties will be attacking the others and accusing them of aborting the agreement. However, Hejab went too far to the extent of alluding to boycotting the Geneva talks that are planned to take place on the 9th this month… To complete the picture, Hejab’s statements regarding the truce were coupled with similar statements made by the Al-Islam Army’s political official, Mohammad Alloush. The two parties said that the Syrian arm and its allies are proceeding with the mobilization of forces in bracing to control more lands and that the chances for the truce to last are slim…

“In this context, a source connected to another armed group spoke about “the possibility that under-the-table negotiations are taking place between the regime and Al-Islam Army.” The source told Al-Akhbar that “there are many signs indicating that but we cannot be sure just yet.” According to the source, these negotiations “aimed at reaching a special agreement with Al-Islam Army, one that is different from the truce that includes all the other parties.” However, two sources connected to Al-Islam Army insisted that “this is absolutely not true.”

“On the other bank, the international envoy, Stafan de Mistura, is proceeding with the international method consisting with decreasing the threat of the successive breaches to the truce and giving the impression that these are normal and expected… The Russian President Vladimir Putin had listened to a number of western leaders who welcomed “the persistence of the fragile truce and called for taking advantage of it” to push the political course of action forward. France, Britain, and Germany called on the Syrian opposition to attend the talks and stressed on the need to “allow the humanitarian aid in and to respect the truce.” According to a source from the Higher Negotiation Committee, these last two points are “part of a number of terms that the committee had raised with some friends.” The source that refused to reveal his name told Al-Akhbar that “this time, the committee will not go to Geneva before realizing its terms or its demands…”