- Title: TURKEY: Tight security ahead of Istanbul Friends of Syria meeting
- Date: 2nd April 2012
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (APRIL 1, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF ISTANBUL CONGRESS CENTRE VARIOUS OF POLICE BARRICADE VARIOUS OF POLICEMEN MOUNTING SECURITY VARIOUS OF FLAGS AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE CONGRESS CENTER
- Embargoed: 17th April 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey, Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Police,International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA5RO20VQ6K6IVRR21UO4QE7QO8
- Story Text: Security was tight at the Istanbul congress centre on Sunday (April 1) where Syrians trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad were to meet their Western backers with the uprising at a crossroads between a UN-supervised ceasefire and a second year of war.
The political opposition remains divided and has not yet formally accepted the U.N. peace plan. Prospects of Western-led military intervention are close to zero.
Assad's opponents were due to meet the foreign ministers of allied Western powers, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Sunday at the Friends of Syria conference in Turkey, which provides a safe haven for Syrian rebels.
The conference is expected to seek clear endorsement of the Annan plan from the Syrian National Council (SNC), although Western and Arab governments are themselves sceptical that Assad will genuinely try to implement it.
It is expected to demand that Assad order a ceasefire without delay and open two-hour daily windows for humanitarian aid.
It is not expected to recognise the SNC as the sole legitimate government of Syria, or to back arming the rebels. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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