Fighting between Syrian rebel and government forces eased on Saturday as a Russian-led effort to shore up a ceasefire took effect, although battles continued on an important frontline near Hama, a rebel commander and war monitor said.
Both Assad's regime and the rebel opposition have ignored previous cease-fire agreements.
The spokesman, Mr Edgar Vasquez, said Russian officials' interpretation of their own agreement "makes no sense". A cease-fire is unsustainable in the presence of the Iranian-backed militias in Syria, he said.
Elsewhere in Syria, activists say government aircraft have hit central Hama province, and there are reports of shelling and gunfire in other parts.
U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura hailed the plan as a step in the right direction towards a real cessation of hostilities. This decision must be taken unanimously by the countries - guarantors of the ceasefire - Turkey, Russia and Iran, the diplomat said, according to TASS.
It said some maps of the "de-escalation zones" that were released are not accurate and will not be accepted because the armed opposition did not negotiate them.
Meanwhile, Bashar Ja'afari, the head of the Syrian delegation to Astana, said the fourth round of talks in the Kazakh capital constitutes a "qualitative leap" in terms of achievements, as the proposal will help stop the bloodletting in Syria. They have always been requested by rebel groups and rejected by the government.
He cited President Putin's many discussions of the political solution with the leadership of Turkey, the USA and Iran; Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's working meetings with the defense ministers of Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Israel; "constant contacts" via intelligence agencies and foreign ministries; and "much work" with the Syrian leadership and leaders of armed opposition groups to convince them of the necessity of taking these steps.
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Earlier sources from the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army had told Rudaw that Turkish forces will be deployed to the Syrian border city of Idlib Saturday night as part of the enforcement of the de-escalation zones in Syria.
The first includes Idlib in the northwest, which is controlled by a coalition of Islamists groups, including a former Al Qaeda affiliate, along with neighbouring Latakia, Hama and Aleppo, each of which has rebel-held areas.
The "de-escalation zones" in Syria will be closed to military aircraft from the us -led coalition, the Russian official who signed the agreement said. This zone does not include the area of Qaboun.
The Observatory said government forces shelled and bombed the nearby town of Latamneh and surrounding areas.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday, before Russian Federation said U.S. -led coalition flights would also be restricted under the deal, that the United States had "reason to be cautious" about the chances for success of the deal, though it appreciates the efforts by Russian Federation and Turkey to help lower violence in Syria.
Syria's ruling regime has supported the agreement, a senior Russian diplomat said, as the deal was announced this week.
Ahmad Rabah, a Syrian refugee from Homs now in Lebanon, said he did not trust Assad's forces and going back to so-called safe zones would be tantamount to living in a "big prison".
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