Russia aims to revive Syria peace plan but reaffirms Assad support

Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad met Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday and is expected to hold talks with other senior Russian diplomats, said Moscow spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

The talks follow UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s meeting with Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damascus on Monday. Mr Brahimi is to visit Moscow this weekend.

Mr Lukashevich denies the existence of a new US-Russian peace plan. He says Russia is pushing for fulfilment of a plan brokered by Mr Brahimi’s predecessor, Kofi Annan, which was approved at an international conference in Geneva in June.

He reaffirmed Moscow’s objection to calls for Assad’s removal.

Mr Brahimi described the situation as “worrying” after his talks with Assad.

After meeting the Syrian leader at the presidential palace in Damascus, he said he and Assad exchanged views on the conflict and discussed possible steps forward, which he did not disclose.

Syria’s state news agency quoted Assad as saying his government supported “any effort in the interest of the Syrian people which preserves the homeland’s sovereignty and independence”.

Mr Brahimi yesterday called for the formation of a transitional government to run Syria until elections can be held.

He told reporters in Damascus that political changes in Syria must not be “cosmetic”.