Russia hopes that the efforts of those seeking to thwart the UN observer mission in Syria will fail, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

“I hope that those who are trying to disrupt the UN observer mission in Syria won’t be able to carry out their plans,” he said.

The observer mission is “definitely a positive factor,” he said, adding that their number should soon be increased to 300, in accordance with the latest Security Council resolution.

The UN Security Council authorized on Saturday the dispatch of 300 military observers to Syria to supervise on the ceasefire between the government and opposition forces.

The ceasefire, part of UN envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan, came into force in Syria on April 12, although there have been reports of numerous violations of the truce by both government and opposition forces.

More than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad last March, according to the UN.

Moscow has twice vetoed UN Security Council resolutions over what it called pro-rebel bias since the start of the uprising against Assad, but gave its full backing to Kofi Annan’s peace plan.