FRANCE: Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says there remains hope for Syria but admits the UN-sponsored Annan peace plan may not work

Record ID: 280651

  • Title: FRANCE: Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says there remains hope for Syria but admits the UN-sponsored Annan peace plan may not work
  • Date: 26th April 2012
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 25, 2012) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF SYRIAN OPPOSITION FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER ALAIN JUPPE GREETING MEMBERS OF SYRIAN OPPOSITION VARIOUS OF JUPPE AND MEMBERS OF SYRIAN OPPOSITION AT MEETING JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE JUPPE AND MEMBERS OF SYRIAN OPPOSITION ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE TELEVISION CAMERA AT NEWS C
  • Embargoed: 11th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVAEN05WFAT6DVO5G8SE4S2EP32S
  • Story Text: Alain Juppe joined members of the Syrian opposition on Wednesday (April 25) to criticise the slow implementation of Kofi Annan's peace plan, and to indicate that another solution to the country's problems may have to be found.
    A shaky UN-backed ceasefire was put in place thirteen days ago but there have since been numerous alleged breaches.
    Following Wednesday's meeting with Syrian opposition members, Juppe spoke saying that things were not going well for the peace plan.
    "Damascus is not respecting the terms it agreed to, the six points of the Annan plan, including the first one which was an immediate ceasefire. We think we should still give this mediation a chance, on the condition that a sufficient monitoring force is deployed quickly," he said.
    Juppe indicated that whilst he still hopes that the peace plan works, opposition leaders and the international community should not be prepared to wait indefinitely.
    "Either this mediation works or it doesn't. And if it doesn't work we cannot continue to allow ourselves to be ignored by the regime in place which has adhered to none of the six points of the Kofi Annan plan. We'd have to move into a new phase."
    Member of the Syrian opposition Souhayr Atassi was pessimistic about the plan's chances of success.
    "We think that Annan's plan is destined to failure because we know what the Syrian regime is doing now and how it defies even the will of the international community. We think that the announcement of this failure will be soon, so what is next? This is what concerns us, what we need to think about from now on. We need to leave all the doors open for all solutions, and cease turning to the regime of Bashar al-Assad for it is not at all a legitimate regime, it is a murderous regime and will be judged and in Syria, it will be judged," she said.
    Wednesday's meeting was held shortly after Syrian security forces shot dead four civilians on a bus in the northern province of Idlib, according to dissidents.
    International pressure has built on Damascus in recent days to honour U.N.-backed ceasefire pledges to order soldiers and tanks back to barracks.
    There was no mention of the bus shooting in Syria's rigidly controlled media or comment from the authorities in Damascus, which has barred most foreign journalists since the revolt started more than 13 months ago.
    Former U.N. Secretary-General and ceasefire broker Kofi Annan told the Security Council on Tuesday that Syria had failed to withdraw weapons from population centres in violation of the terms of the April 12 truce.
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