Beirut (AsiaNews) - After Tehran, Baghdad: Kofi
Annan, the UN envoy and the Arab League, is following his plan to engage in an
attempt to stop the crisis involving Syria's neighbors, politically and
geographically.
"My trip - he said yesterday in a joint press conference with Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki - has touched Damascus,
Tehran and Baghdad.
I had the opportunity to discuss with leaders the need to stop the killings, in
the interests of the Syrian people and to prevent the spread of the conflict to
neighboring countries. "
In fact, Annan warned both countries about the danger that what is now a civil
war will spread beyond the Syrian borders. In this regard, the Iraqi prime
minister has assured support to Annan's mediation, after meeting with Iranian
Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had claimed that Tehran
can play a "positive role" and found in Iran "support and
cooperation." This statement was echoed in Iran which claims that the country
is "part of the solution."
A sentence immediately questioned by Washington.
Jay Carney, White House spokesman, stated "no one can be convinced that Iran could have
a positive impact on the development" of the Syrian crisis.
Besides the diplomatic front, there are now two additional elements. The first
is from Lebanon:
The Lebanese army commander, General Jean Kahwagi, said today that he needed two
thousand men to control the north of the country. Kahwagi was referring to the
decision taken on Monday by the Lebanese government, after two people were
killed in a Syrian aerial bombing.
The second is from Russia.
The Interfax news agency has reported that a Russian naval expedition is being
dispatched to a base in Tartus, northern Syria. (PD)