Former U.N. head to try peace talks in Syria
Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan is scheduled to be in Syria on Saturday on a special peace mission, but the veteran diplomat faces daunting obstacles in trying to craft a cease-fire in the almost yearlong conflict that has cost thousands of lives.
Annan, a joint special envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, will meet Saturday in Damascus, the Syrian capital, with President Bashar Assad, U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told reporters Friday.
On the eve of his trip, opposition activists reported scores more killed across Syria as the now-traditional Friday protests took place in many parts of the country.
Annan’s trip to Damascus comes as the crisis in Syria appears to have reached an impasse amid fear that it could disintegrate into a full-fledged civil war in the heart of the Middle East, with broad geopolitical implications.
The former U.N. chief must walk a diplomatic tightrope, balancing the demands of some nations — including the United States — that Assad must go, against the wishes of other countries, notably Russia, China and Iran, that seek a negotiated settlement while Assad retains power.
Annan has already angered Syrian dissidents by ruling out further “militarization” of the conflict, signaling his preference for a negotiated settlement with Assad’s government. Various opposition groups, including the umbrella Syrian National Council, have rejected any talks with Assad and say the president must stand down.
The Syrian government has said that it is committed to dialogue with the opposition, but its definition of the opposition seems to exclude those groups and individuals seeking Assad’s ouster.
Groups seeking to oust Assad have also called on the international community for various forms of military assistance, including arming Syria’s rebels or instituting a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, as a Westernled alliance did last year in Libya, contributing to the downfall of Moammar Kadafi.
Another suggestion backed by some opposition groups is for the international community to open up humanitarian corridors, or “safe zones,” inside Syria, allowing civilians and dissidents to assemble, shielded from government attack. Any such proposal would probably require some kind of foreign military protection.
But Annan, in remarks in Cairo on Thursday, said he sought a “political settlement” that was “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned,” clearly rebuffing any plan to introduce more arms or foreign troops into the region.