Assad, Annan Agree to New Approach in Talks

International envoy Kofi Annan said he agreed with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday on a new political "approach" to end Syria's 16-month-old conflict that he would put to the rebels.

President al-Assad Discusses with Annan Developments in Syria
and the Need to Alleviate Violence and Restore Security

"We discussed the need to end the violence and ways and means of doing so. We agreed an approach which I will share with the armed opposition," Annan said after meeting Assad in Damascus.

The former UN chief said he had a "constructive" meeting with Assad, on his third such mission for talks on his six-point peace plan for Syria since he was appointed in February.
"I had constructive and candid talks with President Assad," he told reporters at a Damascus hotel, echoing Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdissi who told Al-Manar TV correspondent that the meeting was "constructive and good".

Annan arrived in Damascus on Sunday ahead of the one-day talks.

Ahead of his trip to Damascus, Annan admitted his peace blueprint has so far failed to stem the crisis, in remarks published by French newspaper Le Monde. He also expressed frustration that while Moscow and Iran are mentioned by some as “stumbling blocks” to peace, "little is said about other countries which send arms, money, and have a presence on the ground."

Asked in an interview that aired Sunday about Annan's plan for a unity government in Syria, President Assad said one already exists, pointing to local elections in December in which opposition members won a small number of seats. That they didn't win more, he told German broadcaster ARD, was down to the voters.

Assad said he has a two-pronged solution for the ending of the fighting, beginning with combating the terrorists. "The other axis is to make dialogue with the different political components, and at the same time, we have reform," he said.

Asked whether this reform should be sped up, Assad said a timetable would be subjective. It's happening as quickly as possible, he said, but it must be based on circumstances inside the country.
The Syrian President also accused the United States of trying to destabilize Syria by providing political support to rebels fighting the government. The United States is "part of the conflict. They offer the umbrella and political support to those gangs to... destabilise Syria," said the Syrian leader.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported Sunday that authorities foiled an attempt by armed fighters to enter Syria from Turkey.

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