Annan meets Medvedev as violence continues in Syria

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan is seeking Russian support for his effort to secure a ceasefire in Syria, as violence showed no sign of stopping and the confrontation between government and opposition continues to escalate. Annan was yesterday expected to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss the Syria crisis. In a statement ahead of the meeting between Annan and Medvedev, the Kremlin said it would be hard to enforce a halt to the violence “until external armed and political support of the opposition is terminated.” Russia, along with China, vetoed in February a UN Security Council draft resolution that would back an Arab League plan to promote a “regime change” in Syria. Russia said the resolution was imbalanced and amounted to an attempt to use international authority to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. But Russia has supported Annan’s peacemaking efforts and insisted on a political solution without any foreign intervention. As Annan is seeking to promote his six-point proposal, the situation in Syria is far from encouraging. “An armed terrorist group” blasted on Saturday a gas pipeline in eastern Deir al-Zour province, in the latest of a string of sabotage acts targeting oil and gas pipelines across Syria. The blast caused the leakage of about 700,000 cubic meters of gas and the pumping process is expected to re-operate within 72 hours after maintenance work. At least nine pipelines have been targeted since unrest erupted in Syria in mid-March last year. Syria says “saboteurs” were responsible for the attacks.