"This is one of the difficult parts… to get the opposition to distance itself from al-Nusra [Nusra Front]," the official said on Tuesday. "It certainly is not going to happen if the [Syrian] regime and the Russians don’t adhere to the cessation of hostilities."
The Syrian government’s indiscriminate shelling, the official claimed, is the reason why groups are moving toward the Nusra Front in the first place.
Separating the opposition from Nusra Front fighters during the seven-day period of claim is not an unrealistic goal, the official stated, but it is not going to happen overnight.
US government representatives have briefed the Syrian opposition groups in full on the terms of the US-Russian negotiated peace agreement, the official added when asked about reports suggesting otherwise.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that jihadists from the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, are trying to derail the Syrian peace process with continued missile strikes at government positions.
A nationwide ceasefire, brokered by Moscow and Washington, came into force in Syria at sunset on Monday. If the truce holds for a week, Russian and US air forces will begin coordinated counterterrorism airstrikes.
The Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham are considered terrorists by Russia and the United States and are not part of the deal.
