Putin supports Annan's plan
July 17, 2012
Annan, the UN-Arab League envoy working to resolve the conflict, arrived in Moscow for his first meeting with Putin since the latter won his third presidential term in May. The peace initiative - unimplemented amid escalating violence - faces a Friday deadline for the UN monitors' mission to end or receive an extension.
"The Council, I expect, will be sending out a message that the killings must stop and that the situation on the ground is unacceptable," Annan said. "Hopefully, the Council will come together in a united manner and press ahead in search of peace," he added.
Putin opposes intervention and strongly supports Annan's idea. The six-point plan was to begin with a cease-fire between government forces and rebels, followed by political dialogue, but increasingly intense fighting has called into question whether that idea might be obsolete.
"From the very start, from the first steps, we supported and continue to support your efforts aimed at restoring civil peace," Putin told Annan. "We will do everything that depends on us to support your efforts," he said.
Vote or veto
On Wednesday, the Security Council could extend the mission and give Assad 10 days to pull military equipment from cities or face sanctions. Russia has vowed to block the measure and has proposed a draft that would extend UN mission's mandate for another three months without penalizing Assad in any manner.
"I would hope that the Council will continue its discussions and hopefully find language that will pull everybody together for us to move forward on this critical issue," Annan said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Annan's plan remains the best hope for ending the conflict. Hague also insisted that the plan requires a Chapter 7 resolution and urged Russia and China to get on board.
"Those nations that might block a Security Council resolution have to consider the fact that if they do so, they will be held increasingly responsible for the consequences, for that chaos and bloodshed that are even now becoming worse in Syria," he said.
mkg/mz (AP, AFP, DPA)