Syria Welcomes Kofi Annan, Accepts Russian-Arab Understanding

Syria on Sunday welcomed UN special envoy Kofi Annan and his proposal of political arrangement, and agreed to an understanding between Russia and the Arab League (AL) to implement a five-item neutral plan to solve the crisis.

When welcoming Annan on Saturday night, President Bashar al-Assad stated that any dialogue or political process could not be successful while terrorist groups spark off chaos and destabilize society in the country by attacking civilians and soldiers, and assaulting and sackings public and private properties.

Al-Assad also said that the success of any effort requires firstly to analyze and observe what is happening on the ground to have an objective view, instead of depending only “on the virtual space that some regional and Western countries promote to distort reality and give an image contrary to what occurs in Syria.”

According to reports, Al-Assad will meet again on Sunday with Annan, amid intensive efforts also staged on Saturday in Cairo, Egypt, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with AL ministers, and announced an understanding on a five-item plan, not distant from China’s six-item proposal to end the crisis in Syria.

During a news conference in Cairo, Lavrov stated that they agreed on five points: to end violence from all parties, to establish an impartial mechanism of observation, to stop foreign interference, to provide humanitarian neutral assistance to all Syrians, and to support the mission by UN envoy Kofi Annan.

For the Russian minister, those measures are of great importance and send a clear message to all Syrian parties, saying they agreed to make Annan’s incipient mission a success, “with the hope he leads the beginning of dialogue without advanced results.”  (Taken from PL)