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Medvedev Says Annan Plan Last Chance for Syria to Avoid 'Civil War'
[An Nahar] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...represented the last chance for avoiding a civil war in Syria and offered the U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy Moscow's full support. Medvedev's stark message to Moscow's traditional ally came only hours after U.S. President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... announced plans to send "non-lethal" aid to the Syrian rebels and new waves of violence swept the battle-scarred country. Russia has been facing mounting Western and Arab calls to step up pressure and stop delivering arms to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... 's regime after a year of violence that the opposition says has claimed more than 9,100 lives. Moscow on Wednesday backed a non-binding Security Council statement after vetoing two previous resolutions. But it did so only after making sure the text contained no implicit threat of further action should Assad fail to comply. Medvedev on Sunday appeared to be aiming his words at Assad directly by warning of dire consequences if Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... ignored Annan's peace plan. "This may be the last chance for Syria to avoid a protracted and bloody civil war," Medvedev told Annan at a meeting held in Moscow's Vnukovo 2 airport before his departure for a summit in Seoul. "We will be offering you our full support at any level at which we have a say," said Medvedev. "We very much hope that your efforts have a positive outcome." Annan replied that he expected Russia to play an "active" role in making sure that both sides follow the points of the U.N. Security Council-backed initiative. The U.N.-Arab League envoy was expected in China on Tuesday to shore up backing for his efforts from the two U.N. Security Council members that had blocked previous efforts to condemn Assad's regime. China has also expressed support for Annan's mission amid signs of quickly waning support for Assad from his traditional friends. The U.N. Security Council-backed peace plan requires Assad to pull back his forces from protest cities and provide immediate humanitarian access to the thousands of civilians trapped inside. It also makes no explicit demands on the opposition and calls for a gradual transition to a more representative government in which Assad's role remains undefined. Posted by: Fred 2012-03-26 |
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