[An Nahar] Russia said Thursday it backed a political transition in Syria but rejected Western pressure to call for the exit of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad,
Supressor of the Damascenes...
ahead of international talks on ending the spiraling conflict.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov poured cold water on hopes that world powers have already agreed a common strategy ahead of the weekend talks in Geneva, saying Moscow was opposed to any solution imposed from abroad.
He also said it was a mistake to exclude Syria's ally Iran from Saturday's meeting of world and regional powers.
Assad's fate "must be decided within the framework of a Syrian dialogue by the Syrian people themselves," Lavrov told a news conference with his Tunisian counterpart.
"Foreign players should not be dictating their solutions to the Syrians. We do not and cannot support any intervention or solutions dictated from abroad," he said.
Lavrov said there was "clearly" a need for a political transition in Syria but said world powers had still not agreed on a final document based on proposals by 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 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...for the talks.
"There are no agreed drafts. Work on a possible final document continues," he said.
Lavrov complained bitterly that "individual working formulas" had been leaked to the press overnight. "I view this as a manifestation of an unfair approach to diplomacy."
Diplomats at the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
in New York said Annan has proposed setting up a Syrian transitional government in a bid to end the country's near 16-month conflict and that world powers generally back the plan.