The top U.N. official for Syria warned Wednesday of the “real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper confrontation” in the war-battered country but also hoped for a better life for its people following decisions by the U.

"Our Kurdish vision document will be the basis for negotiations with Damascus. The delegation is close to being ready to negotiate with Damascus," Aldar Xelil, a member of the presidential council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the dominant faction in northeastern Syria, told Reuters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country, the United States, Syria and Iraq have formed a working group to try to resolve the issue of Islamic State group prisoners held in Syria.

For one thing, essentials like housing, clean water and electricity are patchy; according to a un poll of refugees in the diaspora, 81% of homeowners who fled abroad say their houses are no longer habitable. Many schools and hospitals are in ruins. This puts off families with children or the elderly.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said on Friday he has assumed the role of special envoy to Syria, as the Trump administration moves to lift sanctions on the country.

Syria is potentially “weeks” away from collapse, even though the U.S. recently eased longstanding sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation,

After toppling Bashar al Assad in December, Syria’s new leaders pledged to crack down on the captagon trade, which had generated billions of dollars for the Assad regime. However, subsequent efforts have failed to significantly curb the production and trafficking of the illicit stimulant.