DAMASCUS: Syria said on Tuesday it was interested in exploring a proposal by the international peace envoy for a truce, even as it unleashed multiple air strikes on rebel positions on a key highway.
The exiled opposition said it would welcome any ceasefire but that the ball was in the government's court to halt its daily bombardments.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pre-dawn air raids around Maaret al-Numan were the "most violent" since insurgents captured the strategic town on the Damascus-Aleppo highway last week.
Syrian foreign ministry said it looked forward to talks with UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on his proposal for a ceasefire for the four-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday beginning at the end of October, which he has been promoting on a regional tour.
But spokesman Jihad Maqdisi stressed that the rebels and their backers would also need to be involved.
"In order to succeed in any initiative, it takes two sides," Maqdisi said in answer to a question from AFP.
"The Syrian side is interested in exploring this option and we are looking forward to talking to Mr Brahimi to see what is position of other influential countries that he talked to in his tour," he said.
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