The Syrian government said Tuesday that Damascus has accepted the Arab League (AL)'s request of extending the Arab observers' mission in Syria for another month.

The AL has announced a new initiative after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Sunday. The initiative urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to delegate power to his first vice president and stipulated the formation of a national unity government that should be formed within two months.

Analysts have said the fact that Syria has agreed to extend the mandate of the AL observer mission showed that Syria is not willing to shut down its communication channels with the outside world.

However, they also said the initiative, which aims to prepare for the transitional period of a post-Assad Syria, will surely meet strong opposition from the Syrian government. Therefore, it is unlikely to yield any results in the short run.

NEW INITIATIVE TRIGGERS MIXED RESPONSE

In an official statement released on Monday, the Syrian government dismissed the initiative as "flagrant interference in Syria's affairs," stressing that "the plan is outrageous and encroaches upon Syria's sovereignty."

The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), the main opposition force inside the country, believed that the new initiative would offer new opportunities for the present government, giving it time to put out the "flames of revolution."

Burhan Ghalioun, head of the Turkey-based opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), said that the AL initiative emphasized the end of Assad's administration, and that the SNC will not continue its dialogues with the Syrian government before Assad announces his willingness to step down.

For its part, the opposition group National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB) said it welcomed the initiative put forward by the AL.