Blogman's Notes: As I wrote a while back, Russia, though portrayed as a friend of Syria and an enemy of the West, will abandon Syria and Iran and any other perceived ally of Russia and alleged enemy of the West. It seems like Assad of Syria is being given the Gaddafi treatment. The rulers of Saudi Arabia should be quaking in their boots right now for their turn to be a regime of the past is certain to come. If anything history teaches, it is that all the allies of the US/NATO sooner or later become their foes. Remember the Shah of Iran, friend of America? In his last days he couldn't even find asylum in the land of his best ally, the US of A. Remember Saddam Hussein, the friend of Donald Rumsfeld and Ronald Reagan? Remember Moammar Gaddafi, the brother of Tony Blair and Nicolas Sarkozy; the same Sarkozy whose planes bombed Libya back to the Stone Age? Every dictator has been the friend of America at some point in time or the other. But these friendships are like weather in the South Pacific: bright, sunny and calm one moment and a raging typhoon with 100 foot waves the next. So Middle Eastern sheikdoms and kingdoms and dictatorships should beware, they too have a bulls eye painted on their nations; the only question is how long will their status quo last?
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The Syrian crisis is to be resolved by a transition government consisting of the current authorities and opposition leaders. The proposal was announced by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan after talks in Geneva.
The unity government should be formed on the basis of mutual consent, said Annan. The Syrian-led transition should take place within a fixed period of time.
Annan, announcing the official communiqué of the international meeting in Geneva, called on the Syrian regime and opposition groups to start implementing his six-point peace plan immediately, without waiting for the other side.
The envoy stressed several times that it is up to Syrians to determine their political future.
Prior to the conference, Annan had proposed a plan for a unity government in Syria excluding political figures that compromise the country’s stability, effectively calling for the removal of President Assad. But Russia refused to back such a provision.
Annan said some common ground is yet to be found. A new round of Syria talks can take place in Moscow, revealed diplomatic sources.
During the meeting, British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for the UN Security Council to draft a resolution imposing sanctions against the Arab country. He also maintained that President al-Assad and his close associates could not lead a transition, reports Reuters.
“Without [a UNSC resolution] and the prospect of penalties for non-compliance, there can be little credible pressure on the Syrian regime and other parties to change course," said Hague.
If there is no resolution to the Syrian crisis, UN observers will have to withdraw from the Arab country, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned the conference on Saturday.The violent uprisings that started over 16 months ago in Syria have become increasingly more militarized over the last few months. Both the Syrian President and UN envoy Annan have classified the conflict as an all-out war.The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon said that the death toll has reached over 10,000, while opposition groups say that the figure is a lot higher.
MORE ON THE STORY
Today: 00:02
Washington and Moscow have a good chance of progressing on Syria in Geneva on Saturday, said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as he emerged from an hour of tense talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Syria unrest28.06, 13:49
Footage showing the results of an alleged massacre in the Syrian city of Hama in April has been obtained by RT. Sources say that opposition rebels committed the atrocity.
Syria unrest28.06, 12:42
Turkish officials have confirmed deploying anti-aircraft batteries in the area close to the border with Syria. This is the reply to Syria downing a Turkish reconnaissance aircraft in country’s territorial waters and the shooting at another plane.
Syria unrest27.06, 02:45
Syrian President says his country in a state of war. The UN peacekeeping chief says the UN observer mission in the country will not resume, as it is too dangerous for the monitors to restart their operations at this point.