Annan and Putin show no progress on Syria

By Unknown - Jul 18, 2012

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to do everything to support Kofi Annan's plan for ending the violence in Syria that the UN-Arab League envoy said had reached "unacceptable" proportions.

Annan arrived on Tuesday for his first meeting with the Kremlin chief since Putin's return for a third term, hoping to avert a new Moscow veto of a Security Council resolution threatening sanctions against Russia's ally.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the 90-minute meeting that he could "see no reason why we cannot also agree at the UN Security Council. We are ready for this".

In-depth coverage of escalating violence across Syria

But neither Putin nor other Russian official offered any sign that they were ready to take a harder line with President Bashar al-Assad or compromise on punitive measures against the regime's brutal use of force.

"From the very start, from the first steps, we supported and continue to support your efforts aimed at restoring civil peace," Putin told Annan at the start of their talks.

Annan replied that "the Syrian cisis is at a critical time" before the discussion was closed to the media.

Annan's three-month-old peace initiative - never implemented amid recently escalating violence - is now up against a Friday deadline for a UN monitors mission to either wind down or receive an extension from the Security Council.

The Security Council will vote on Wednesday on a Western-backed resolution that threatens Syrian authorities with sanctions if they do not stop using heavy weapons in towns. Russia has declared it will block the move.

General Manaf Tlass, who defected from Assad's government earlier this month, has issued a statement saying that e was in Paris and called for a "constructive transition" in his country.

"I sincerely hope that the blood stops flowing and that the country emerges from the crisis through a phase of constructive transition that guarantees Syria its unity, stability and security, as well as the aspirations of its people," said Tlass, a member of the inner circle of power and a childhood friend of Assad.

'Damascus volcano'

Rebels declared the battle to "liberate" Damascus has begun as heavy fighting raged across the city on Tuesday and
Russia said an agreement is possible for a UN resolution on the Syria crisis.

An image captured from a video claiming to show tanks captured by the Syrian opposition in Homs on Tuesday [YouTube]

The proclamation by the Free Syrian Army, which also claimed it had shot down a helicopter in the capita, came as heavy machinegun fire was reported in Damascus's Sabaa Bahrat Square.

At least eight people were killed as tanks and helicopter gunships were deployed in Qaboon district, while battles were fought in Midan and Hajar, Aswad, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

As the fighting inched closer to the regime's nerve centre, FSA spokesman Colonel Kassem Saadeddine said "victory is nigh" and that the fight would go on until the city was conquered.

"We have transferred the battle from Damascus province to the capital. We have a clear plan to control the whole of Damascus. We only have light weapons, but it's enough."

"Expect surprises," Saadeddine added, before adding later that rebels had downed a helicopter over Qaboon, although an activist in the district said there was "no foundation" to the report.

Syrian security forces, meanwhile, say that the opposition is being "dealt with" in Damascus, denying media reports that "do not reflect facts on the ground".

Fighting in the city has raged since Sunday, with the rebels announcing a full-scale offensive dubbed "the Damascus volcano and earthquakes of Syria."

An activist who said he was in Midan neighbourhood said the army was shelling the neighbourhood "hysterically".

"The collapsing regime has gone mad," the man calling himself Abu Musab said via Skype, adding that the Syrian army are "shelling everything".

A column of smoke could be seen on Tuesday billowing from the Midan district near the centre of Damascus, which has been pounded by regime troops since Monday.

"I can hear shelling, explosions and gunfire every once in a while," a Kfar Souseh resident told Al Jazeera in the early hours of Tuesday.