Syria close to sign UN observer protocol: Official

Damascus, April 19 (Xinhua-ANI): A Syrian official said Thursday that his country is working on the "final touches" of an observers ' protocol with the UN, a document aiming to regulate the work of the monitors on the ground.

Syria has not signed the protocol with the UN yet, the official told Xinhua anonymously, adding, however, that it "is working on the final touches to sign the agreement."

The Syrian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Wednesday that Syria is committed to facilitating the mission of the UN observers, noting that more than 85 percent of the protocol between the Syrian government and the observers had been accomplished.

In an interview with U.S. CBS network on Wednesday, Makdissi stressed that it is in Syria's interest to have observers on the ground to monitor the situation.

An advance team of UN observers arrived in Damascus Sunday night to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire brokered by UN-Arab League joint special envoy Kofi Annan.

Their arrival came a day after the UN Security Council unanimously approved the observer mission. The team will be followed by other batches of observers and the total number of monitors may eventually reach 250. (Xinhua-ANI)