Kofi Annan in Damascus seeking an almost impossible deal to end crisis
Beirut (AsiaNews) - Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus yesterday in what is tantamount to mission impossible, i.e. find a solution to the Syrian crisis, following the failure of the six-point plan he had proposed as United Nations-Arab League envoy.
A statement issued on Sunday by Ahmad Fawzi, Annan's spokesman, did not give details of the envoy's schedule in Damascus; however, diplomatic sources said he plans to bring Iran into the process, a prospect clearly opposed by the United States.
For her part, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Sunday that time was running out for Assad supporters. Still, there "is a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault".
Her statement drew the expected reaction in Damascus, where Assad accused the United States of arming Syria's attackers.
Tehran also spoke out on the matter. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said today that forcing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down would be a "joke," warning that an attack against Syria would be "stupid".
In Syria, the military began large-scale exercises simulating defence against outside "aggression" with Syrian naval forces repelling an attack from the sea.
Elsewhere in the country, fighting and casualties continued. More than 30 people were reportedly killed on Sunday during government shelling and clashes between Syrian forces and Free Syrian Army rebels. (PD)
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