Annan admits failure of Syrian peace mission

Kofi Annan, the joint UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, has admitted his failure in solving Syrian crisis, according to a French daily.

“We have made significant efforts to resolve this situation by peaceful political methods. Obviously, we have not succeeded. And there is no guarantee that we will succeed,” Annan said in an interview with Le Monde.

Annan’s comment comes four months after the implementation of his six-point peace which was followed by a deadly massacre in the village of Houla, as well as numerous attacks in Damascus and other Syrian regions.

The idea of establishing Syrian interim government, proposed by Annan, was also rejected by Syrian opposition activists who said they would not negotiate with President Bashar Al-Assad’s government .

Annan also said that despite Russia’s influence on the decisions, made by international community towards Syria, he was not sure “Russia would determine the situation around Syria”.

Russia along with China has twice vetoed UN resolutions against Damascus over what it says is a pro-rebel bias, at the same time backing Annan’s failed peace plan for Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based organisation with a network of activists in Syria, reported Saturday that the toll in the violence-hit country reached 17,000 over the last 16 months since the beginning of a revolt against President Al-Assad.

NY Daily News