The United Nations still has a million questions about a Syria deal struck last week by Russia, Turkey and Iran, with aid convoys almost totally stalled despite a reported reduction in the fighting, a UN aid official said on Thursday. "We do have a million questions and concerns but I think we don't have the luxury that some have, of this distant cynicism, and saying it will fail. The political weight of the signatories and the staggered timing of the deal gave it a strong chance of working. A key aspect of the Astana deal was that it was an "interim" arrangement to address urgent issues, not a permanent partition of Syria, he said. De Mistura said the Astana talks had also made rapid progress on agreements covering prisoner releases and de-mining, and both were almost complete.

Source: Egypt Independent May 11, 2017 12:33 UTC