US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted that a requirement for “mutual
consent” meant Mr Assad would have to go. Last week the Syrian
president said that outside powers could not dictate an agreement, and he
has insisted he will stay.
Diplomats were clearly pleased to have agreed a peace plan, confounding the
pessimists, but in reality it seemed an enormously difficult for Mr Annan to
implement when he returns to Damascus. Even as diplomats talked peace in
Switzerland fighting raged in many parts of Syria, with at least 59 killed
on Saturday, according to the opposition, including dozens in a town near
Damascus which was bombarded by regime forces.
Mr Annan said time was running out for an agreement, and the bloodshed had to
end. “I expect the Syrian parties to cooperate,” he said. He hoped
to bring the parties to the table and persuade them that the time for
talking has come.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said before the talks opened: “It is
time for all of us to act with urgency and determination, to create a
roadmap to lead Syria back from the brink, and to insist on its full
implementation. This is a sound plan with sound principles.”
Later he observed on Twitter: “A step forward in Geneva after tough
talks: agreement to principles of transition in Syria. Only a start – need
to follow up and implement.”
At the start of the day the prospects for a successful meeting had seemed low.
But although agreement between the powers has been acheived, there was
little detail on how a national government could be formed. Mr Assad has
shown little interest in talking to his opponents, and they have
increasingly turned to to armed struggle in recent weeks.
Before the meeting Mr Annan had warned that the conflict could spread across
the Middle East and beyond.
“We are here to agree on guidelines and principles for a Syrian-led
political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian
people,” Mr Annan said in opening remarks. “No one should be in
any doubt as to the extreme dangers posed by the conflict – to Syrians, to
the region, and to the world.”
His plan for a negotiated solution to the 16-month-old conflit was the only
one on the table and its failure would doom Syria to even more violence.
More than 10,000 people have been killed since the anti-Assad uprising broke
out and the past few weeks have been among the bloodiest.
Moscow has objected to any solution imposed on Syria from outside. The United
States and its European and Arab allies see no way ahead while power remains
in Assad’s hands.
As the talks were held, Syrian government forces were pushing their way into
Douma on the outskirts of Damascus after weeks of siege and shelling.
Fleeing residents spoke of corpses lying in the streets.
War planes reportedly struck targets in the suburb, and the army also attacked
pro-opposition areas in Deir al-Zor, Homs, Idlib and the outskirts of
Damascus, opposition activists said.
Mr Annan said the crisis should never have reached this point. “Either
unite to secure your common interests or divide and surely fail in your own
individual way. Without your unity, your common resolve and your action now
… nobody can win and everyone will lose in some way,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said before the meeting that Mr Assad
and his close associates could not lead any transition. Accountability for
war crimes must be part of such a process, he added in his speech to the
meeting.
Mr Hague called for the UN Security Council to start drafting a resolution
next week setting out sanctions against Syria, a move that he noted put him
at at odds with Russia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the talks the solution lay with the
Syrian people, not outsiders, but that Beijing fully supported Mr Annan’s
mediation.
Iran, Syria’s closest regional ally, and Saudi Arabia, a foe of both Damascus
and Tehran and leading backer of the rebel forces opposing Assad, were not
represented. Nor was anyone from the Syrian government or opposition.
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