Annan Resigns as Envoy on Syria

Kofi Annan, the special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League who has sought unsuccessfully for months to resolve the Syria conflict, submitted his resignation on Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.

“Tragically, the spiral of violence in Syria is continuing,” Mr. Ban said in his statement announcing Mr. Annan’s resignation. “The hand extended to turn away from violence in favor of dialogue and diplomacy — as spelled out in the Six-Point Plan — has not been taken, even though it still remains the best hope for the people of Syria.” (NYTimes.con, 2 August)

Annan Heads Off to Tehran After Talks with Syrian President Assad

UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan headed off to Tehran on Monday afternoon after holding talks earlier in the day with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in a last-ditch effort to salvage Syria peace plan. Annan has always wanted to engage Iran, one of the main supporters of Assad, in finding a solution to the Syrian crisis. IRNA reported that Mr. Annan is expected to arrive in Tehran later today.

UPDATE: Russia said today it is halting arms exports to Syria until the situation there calms down, the AP reported.

Global Powers Call for Political Transition in Syria

Russia Blocks Assad's Exclusion

World and regional powers today agreed to support a watered-down version of a plan put forward by Special Envoy Kofi Annan to promote a political transition in Syria. The agreement reached in Geneva did not include a specific call for Bashar al-Assad to step down as president, a move regarded as critical for the transition plan to success but firmly opposed by Russia. 

Annan insisted, however, that the people of Syria would not select “people with blood on the hands” to lead them during the transition. But he did not explain how he could pull off forming a transitional national unity government without Assad’s presence and without the firm support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Today’s meeting of the so-called "Syria Action Group" included foreign ministers from all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey and officials from the EU and the Arab League.

Syria Talks Reportedly Deadlocked

A conference called by Special Envoy Kofi Annan to end the Syria crisis appeared "on the brink of failure," with the U.S. and Russia still divided over a role for Bashar Assad in a transition government, AP reported today. Russia has refused to back a provision in Annan’s plan that would call for Assad to step down to make way for a unity government, a stance that could derail the entire plan.

Annan’s proposal would have created a transitional national unity government comprising of pro-government as well as pro-opposition members to implement an ambitious timeline ending the fighting and preparing the country for a peaceful transition to a post conflict period of national reconciliation. Presence of Assad in a transition government, presumably as its head, would be unacceptable to the opposition.

Russia Backs Annan Proposal for Establishing Syria Unity Government- Report

Russia will support a proposal by Kofi Annan to have the government and opposition in Syria to form a government of national unity, Reuters reported. Annan, the international mediator for Syria, will formally present his proposal at a Syria contact group meeting in Geneva on Saturday. The group, put together by Annan in the past few days, will consist of the five permanent members of the Security Council, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar. It will not include Iran or Saudi Arabia.

Annan idea includes establishing a transitional national unity government with clear and irreversible transition in fixed timeline, the report said. (Reuters, 27 June).

"(The transitional government) could comprise present government members, opposition and others, but would need to exclude those whose continued participation or presence would jeopardize the transition's credibility, or harm prospects for reconciliation and stability," a senior diplomat with the knowledge of the proposed plan told Reuters. The idea of excluding certain people was clearly referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the diplomat added.

All the five permanent members of the Security Council will reportedly back the plan.

France to Host “Friends of Syria” Meeting

France will host the third meeting of “Friends of Syria,” a gathering of countries that back the departure of the embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on 6 July in Paris.

“We consider in France that Bashar al-Assad is an assassin and the sooner he leaves power, the better," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius [AFP, 7 June].

About 50 nations, including the United States, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, will take part.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said that neighboring Iran would not be invited to participate.

“The Iranian regime until now has without fail supported Bashar al-Assad and the bloody repression of his people,” Valero said. “In this context, it is not possible to have it associated with resolving the Syrian crisis.”

Many of the participating countries, like France and Qatar, favor placing the implementation of the UN’s six-point peace plan, known as Annan’s peace plan, under chapter 7 of UN Charter, allowing member countries to use all the necessary means, including military intervention, to end the conflict in Syria, as it was done in Libya. The veto-yielding Russia and China, however, would likely block the move, with the possibility of a coalition of countries outside UNSC framework to plan its own alternatives, including a military option.

Meanwhile, Kofi Annan today told e meeting of the UN Security Council that the Syrian government was the main culprit for the failure of his peace initiative in the country. He told the UNSC that there must be "consequences" for those obstructing efforts to end the conflict.

Syrian Truce Holds – UN Team Ready for Deployment

The ceasefire in Syria is holding for the second day, as a UN peacekeeping team is awaiting the UN Security Council order to deploy to Syria. The team of 30 unarmed military observers would begin overseeing the tenuous ceasefire in the country.

The continued presence of government troops and armored vehicles in the cities in violation of the agreement signed between the Assad government and UN envoy Kofi Annan was a matter of concern, however.

South Africa's UN Ambassador Baso Sangqu said discussions on the text of a UNSC resolution regarding the deployment of UN observers would begin shortly.

Source: Al Jazeera

Syria Calm – Cease-Fire Takes Hold

A fragile cease-fire brokered by the UN envoy Kofi Annan took hold in Syria today. The government forces appeared to have halted attacks on opposition. Based on its agreement with Mr. Annan, the government also has to pull troops back to barracks, a move that has not yet materialized. Annan's plan calls for the deployment of international observers and talks on a political transition once a truce is in place.

Source: AP, 12 April 2012

Syria Declares Ceasefire

Syria declared today the halt of military operations in its cities as of Thursday, the official SANA news agency reported.

International envoy to Syria Kofi Annan said today hat the cease of all military fighting across Syria will go into effect as of 6 a.m. local time on Thursday.

An Annan spokesman said he will continue coordination with the Syrian government regarding the implementation of Annan's six-point cease-fire plan. The plan calls for a troop withdrawal from populated areas and a cease-fire by 12 April 12. The plan aims to pave the way for a political settlement to the 13-month old unrest.

Source: Xinhua, 11 April 2011

Kofi Annan in Tehran

Soliciting Tehran’s Support for Ceasefire by Thursday

International envoy to Syria and former UN chief Kofi Annan today appealed to Iran, Syria’s key supporter, to help end the violence and bring about ceasefire in the country. Annan arrived in Tehran on a visit to solicit Tehran’s support for his peace plan to push Damascus to withdraw its troops from cities and halt all violence by Thursday. He held talks with senior Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Annan said later that Iran agreed on the need to “find a peaceful solution to the crisis” and he voiced optimism that the situation on the ground would improve by Thursday’s deadline.

Photo: Kofi Annan (l.) meeting with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili. Tehran. 11 April 2012. Fars