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)