Anan ready for Assad talks

The UN and Arab League’s envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, is due to meet President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus for talks on his six-point peace plan, BBC News reported.The meeting comes after Annan acknowledged that the plan has so far failed to end the violence.A week ago, a meeting of major powers called for a transitional unity government in Syria.Assad has accused the US of trying to destabilise Syria by giving “gangs” in his country political protection.Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, told the AFP news agency that the talks would focus on the six-point plan for peace mediated by Mr Annan earlier this year.In an interview published on Saturday, Kofi Annan told the French paper Le Monde that the plan for Syria had so far “failed” to end the bloodshed.A day earlier, he recommended in a report to the UN Security Council that the UN mission that is meant to be monitoring the truce in Syria should instead focus on political mediation.Syrian opposition groups demand that Assad and close allies of his should be excluded from any transition government, but the president insists he will not step down.In a TV interview broadcast on Sunday, President Assad said Mr Annan’s six-point plan was “very good”, but was being undermined by certain countries, including the US.”The biggest obstacle is that many countries do not even want this plan to succeed so they offer political support and continue to provide the terrorists in Syria with arms and money,” Mr Assad was quoted as telling German broadcaster ARD.He said Saudi Arabia and Qatar were supplying the “terrorists” in his country with arms, while Turkey was giving them logistical support.Assad also said he believed that the majority of Syrians support him.
His remarks came as Syria’s armed forces conducted “large-scale” manoeuvres to test their “combat readiness” against “any possible aggression”, according to the state news agency Sana.”Our navy forces started to conduct an operational tactical manoeuvre with live ammunition, during which naval and coastal rockets were fired,” the report added.Tensions along the border with Turkey have been raised after Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet last month.Some in the Syrian opposition have called for foreign military intervention to unseat Mr Assad’s government.   Read more... (375 words)

Armenian News