10 Mar 2012

Assad rejects political solution in Syria

President Bashar al-Assad tells UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan that no political solution is possible in Syria while “terrorist” groups are destabilising the country.

Mr Annan’s trip to Syria followed a violent day in which activists said Assad’s forces killed at least 72 people as they bombarded parts of Homs and sought to deter demonstrators and crush insurgents elsewhere.

“Syria is ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing,” state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling his guest.

“No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability,” the Syrian leader said after about two hours of talks with the former UN secretary-general.

The United Nations estimates that Syrian security forces have killed well over 7,500 people. Syria said in December that “terrorists” had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.

Watch the video: The horror of Homs
Arab League envoy Kofi Annan in Damascus for talks with President Bashar al-Assad (Reuters)

‘Immediate ceasfire’

Annan discussed his mission with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby.

“I have very strongly urged Kofi Annan to ensure that there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Ban told reporters in New York after the call.

After a ceasefire, he said, there should be “inclusive political solutions” found through dialogue.

Annan also plans to meet the Syrian opposition before leaving the country on Sunday. He has called for a political solution, but dissidents say the time for dialogue has passed.

Russia could play a vital role in any push for a managed transition in Syria, although it has resisted Western and Arab demands for Assad to quit, saying no such outcome of negotiations can be predetermined or imposed from outside.

Read more: United Nations - hospital torture taking place across Syria

“If (Annan) can persuade Russia to back a transitional plan, the regime would be confronted with the choice of either agreeing to negotiate in good faith or facing near-total isolation through loss of a key ally,” the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a paper this week.

Chinese and Russian reluctance to approve any UN resolution on Syria stems partly from their fear that it could be used to justify a Libya-style military intervention, although Western powers deny any intention to go to war again in Syria.

Germany suggested Vladimir Putin’s victory in Russia’s presidential election last Sunday might lead to a policy change.

“I hope that Russia has a clearer view after the election. It is crucial that the UN Security Council gives a clear statement that shows that we stand by the people of Syria and are against violence and repression,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters at an EU meeting in Denmark.

Russia, an old ally of Damascus and its main arms supplier, has defended Assad against his Western and Arab critics.

A Russian diplomat said this week Assad was battling al-Qaeda-backed militants, including 15,000 foreign fighters who would seize cities if Syrian troops withdrew.

The Syrian opposition denies any al-Qaeda role in the uprising, but Islamists are among those who have taken up arms against Assad. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five soldiers were killed when army deserters attacked their troop carrier in the southern province of Deraa.