Annan Says Syria 'Disastrous' if Rebels Armed, Hopes for Improved Situation by Deadline
U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan warned on Wednesday it would be "disastrous" if rebels fighting the Syrian regime were to be armed, as proposed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
"I've always said the militarization of the conflict will be disastrous," Annan told a news conference in Tehran during a visit to Iran, Syria's chief ally in the Middle East.
Annan, who drew up a six-point plan to end combat in Syria, said a new conflict could not be tolerated in the Middle East.
The envoy said he believed his plan could still be salvaged and be fully implemented by a deadline at 6:00 am Damascus time (0300 GMT) on Thursday if both the Syrian regime and rebels respected its terms.
He said the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has given "further clarifications" over how it would implement its side of the plan after it failed to observe a Tuesday deadline to withdraw its forces from urban areas.
"What they mean and want is an assurance that the other forces, the opposition forces, would also stop the fighting so that we could see cessation of all the violence," he said.
Annan said his team has "had positive answers from them" and that "governments with influence" had also been approached to ensure that all sides in the conflict respect the ceasefire.
Source: Agence France Presse
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