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The weekend meeting in Geneva, which was agreed only after wrangling between Moscow and Washington over both the agenda and the guest list, is to be attended by some regional governments but not by rival Middle East heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia, diplomats said.
The diplomatic push came as the death toll in Syria soared, with 149 people killed on Wednesday alone on the heels if what human rights monitors said was the bloodiest week of the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
Annan’s proposed interim authority would exclude officials whose presence might jeopardise the transition “or undermine efforts to bring reconciliation”, according to a summary given by one UN diplomat.
The major powers the US, Britain, France, China and Russia, a key Assad ally generally back the plan that will be discussed at a meeting of foreign ministers Annan has convened in Geneva tomorrow, the diplomats said.
“The language of Annan’s plan suggests that Assad could be excluded but also that certain opposition figures could be ruled out,” said a diplomat, while stressing that there was nothing there that automatically excluded him.
“Russia’s acceptance of this plan could be a new sign that it is ready to let Assad go,” said the diplomat.
But Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there was no guarantee that Annan’s document would be agreed to in Geneva.
“Whatever Kofi Annan is going to prepare is going to be basis of discussion for the ministers,” he said.
Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq will be at the meeting, but Iran and Saudi Arabia are not invited.
Both Annan and UN chief Ban Ki-moon had wanted Iran to take part in the talks, as had Russia. But the United States strongly had opposed the Islamic republic’s involvement.
Speaking in Helsinki, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had been in regular contact with Annan over his transition plan, without saying what it contained.
“We think it embodies the principles needed for any political transition in Syria that could lead to a peaceful, democratic and representative outcome reflecting the will of the Syrian people,” she added.
US officials had warned that Clinton could stay away from the Geneva meeting if transition from Assad’s rule was not squarely on the agenda, despite Russian opposition to regime change.
Clinton is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saint Petersburg today for talks expected to be dominated by the Syria crisis.
Tomorrow’s meeting in Geneva has taken on huge urgency as Annan’s original six-point peace plan has stalled in the face of surging violence.
Of the more than 15 804 people killed since the uprising broke out in March last year, nearly 4 700 have lost their lives since the ceasefire brokered by Annan was supposed to take effect on 12 April. — AFP
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