Syria stalls, peace plan put in doubt

BEIRUT— Syrian forces will not pull out of towns and cities that have been centres of the year-long uprising until “normal life” resumes, a Syrian government spokesman told state news media Saturday.

The statement raises new questions about prospects for carrying out a Un-backed peace plan as Western and Arab leaders prepared for a high-level meeting in Turkey on the Syrian crisis.

As Syria’s government crackdown continued unabated Saturday, the comments prompted signs of frustration from the United States and the six Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who were meeting in Saudi Arabia.

For the first time, those countries called for setting a specific deadline for Syria to halt the violence against the opposition and allow medical aid to reach victims, steps that Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, has publicly pledged to take under a peace plan.

The seven countries — the United States, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman — urged Kofi Annan, the joint envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, “to determine a timeline for next steps if the killing continues.”

The statement also calls for “the peaceful transition of power to achieve the will and aspirations of the Syrian people.” Annan’s spokesman, Ahmed Fawzi, told reporters Friday that as “the stronger party,” Syrian forces should stop shooting first in a “gesture of good faith.”

But Jihad Maqdissi, a foreign ministry spokesman, said on TV, “Once peace and security prevail in these areas, the army will not stay nor wait for Kofi Annan to leave. This is a Syrian matter.”