COPENHAGEN - The United States is closely examining whether a Russia-brokered deal to establish safe zones in Syria can work in the long term, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said.
"All wars eventually come to an end and we have been looking for a long time how to bring this one to an end," Mattis told reporters ahead of his arrival in Denmark on Monday.
"So we will look at the proposal, see if it can work," Mattis added.
Experts are sceptical about Thursday's deal because neither the Syrian government nor the rebels were direct signatories and the opposition offered only a lukewarm reaction.
Washington has given the deal an extremely cautious welcome, citing concerns about Iran's role as a guarantor even as it expressed hope the agreement could set the stage for a later settlement.
"Does this proposal have a hope for ending this war? We'll have to look at it. The devil is always in the details, so we are going to have to look at the details, see if we can work them out, see if we think they are going to be effective," Mattis said. (AFP)