Syria finally gave its agreement Monday, December 19, to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo.

Speaking at a news conference in Damascus, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that Syria had only signed up to the deal after making sure it did not infringe its sovereignty.

He said the deal was an initial period of one month, renewable with the agreement of both sides.

"Signing the protocol is the start of cooperation with the Arab League and we will welcome the observers' mission from the Arab League," he said.

"Article 8 of the Arab League charter protects existing structures and bans countries from interfering... In this protocol we are talking about protecting civilians from terrorist groups."

Syria has consistently rejected the view of Western governments and human rights groups that the protests in the country have been overwhelmingly peaceful, insisting that they are the work of armed groups.

Muallem said that he expected the observer mission to vindicate the regime's position that the government has been battling an armed rebellion.

The 22-member Arab bloc had been trying to persuade Damascus to accept the observer mission for weeks.

Under the terms of the deal that the observers are intended to oversee, Syrian security forces are required to pull back from the towns and villages that have been at the centre of nine straight months of protests and open negotiations with the opposition under League auspices, AFP reported.