Clinton, Lavrov to meet for Syria talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were to meet overnight on the sidelines of the United Nations Security Council to talk over differences on the Syrian crisis.

Mr Lavrov was flying to New York from Cairo, where he had a tense meeting with Arab League foreign ministers. They had endorsed a plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to his vice-president, but the Russians oppose any resolution endorsing regime change.

In the end, the Arab League and Mr Lavrov agreed on several points that could serve as the basis for a future Security Council resolution: an immediate ceasefire, a clause preventing foreign intervention, assurances on humanitarian aid and endorsing the mission of special envoy to Syria, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

Western powers have said they will not intervene militarily in Syria as they did last year against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Top officials in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have spoken positively of the idea of arming the rebels in Syria, but have not announced concrete plans.

At the Security Council meeting overnight, the ministers from the council’s 15 countries were expected to approve a resolution extending the UN political mission in Libya for a year, with a mandate to support democratic transition, help with elections, and promote the rule of law and the protection of human rights.

Earlier, Mr Annan has left Syria without reaching an agreement with Dr Assad for a ceasefire in the year-old uprising, amid reports dozens more people were killed yesterday by government forces.

During his visit to Syria, Mr Annan also met members of the Damascus-based opposition, said Mahmoud Merei, head of the Arab Organisation for Human Rights. Discussions centred on finding a political solution to the crisis and getting humanitarian aid, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.