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Posted on December 25, 2012 by Akashma Online News

UN News Service-Voice of America-Akashma News
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The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Lahdar Brahimi is in Damascus holding talks with President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition. Brahimi arrived in the Syrian capital by car because of the unstable situation at Damascus Airport where fighting between government troops and opposition forces has been ongoing for weeks.

The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, met with President Bashar al-Assad today for further talks on the situation in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

“The President expressed his view regarding the current situation and I briefed him on the meetings I had in several capitals with officials from different countries inside and outside the region,” Mr. Brahimi told reporters in the Syrian capital of Damascus following the meeting.

“I also told him about the steps that in my view need to be taken to help the Syrian people find a way out of this crisis,” he added.

While the US declared publicly that they recognized the Rebel Groups-Syrian Opposition Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian People,  the international body of the UN hold important talks for the region with President Bashar Al-Assad.  Yahoo News

Associated Press/Manu Brabo – Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons, close to a military base, near Azaz, Syria, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. The gains by rebel forces came as the European Union denounced the Syrian conflict, which activists say has killed more than 40,000 people. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

Mr. Brahimi has been engaged in a series of meetings in the region and elsewhere as part of his efforts to bring about a negotiated, political solution to end to the fighting in Syria, where at least 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the uprising against President al-Assad began in March 2011. The conflict has spawned more than 500,000 refugees, while an estimated four million people inside the country need urgent humanitarian assistance.

Few months ago the leaders of the world and the Arab League were talking in terms of ousting President Bashr Al-Assad as the only way to resolve the Syrian conflict, now after close to 40,000 deaths, 500,000 refugees and great parts of Syria infrastructure destroyed they change the tone.

On December 20, 2012 the United Nations released a report from their independent panel on human rights noting in their latest update, “UN independent panel finds more breaches of human rights law by parties to Syrian conflict” UN News Center

In addition to meeting with regional leaders and government representatives, Mr. Brahimi has also met with officials such as Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, amongst others.

At the media encounter in Damascus, the Joint Special Representative also addressed claims of difficulty in arranging to meet with the Syrian President.

“I would like to seize this opportunity to comment on what was said a few days ago about the reluctance of President to receive me during my previous visits, and his refusal to see me this time, and that I asked the Russians to intervene with the President to convince him to meet with me, or otherwise I would resign – I would like to say that not one word of this is true,” Mr. Brahimi said.

The Joint Special Representative has previously stated that a peace process could be based on the so-called Geneva communiqué, which was issued after a meeting in the Swiss city of the Action Group for Syria – made up of interested parties – in late June and which lays out key steps in a process to end the violence in Syria.

“The situation is Syria is still worrying and we hope that all parties would adopt a solution that would meet the aspirations of the Syrian people,” Mr. Brahimi added.

Amongst other items, the Geneva communiqué called for the establishment of a transitional governing body, with full executive powers and made up by members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups, as part of agreed principles and guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition.

The parties involved in providing ammunition to the Rebel groups inside Syria are to blamed for the escalation of this conflict. From all the regions in the world where the US/NATO has mingled in the internal business of a country, Syria has backfired on everyone. It is reasonable to deduct that a strong country such Syria, surrounded by powerful allies like China and Russia was going to stand strong.
Every country with a working government should not be undermine with threats from outsides countries. The civilian population should be the first thing in mind when “Allies of the Willing” want to input their ideas of democracy. We must never forget Iraq and Afghanistan destroyed by the hungry armies of the Allies.

Boris Dolgov of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments.

“The current talks in Damascus mark a major step towards Syrian settlement. However, things won’t change much as long as armed opposition groups are supported from abroad. But talks, no matter in what format, are always welcome.”

Forces that pushed Syria into civil war exceed Lahdar Brahimi’s diplomatic potential, says Sergei Demidenko of the Institute of Strategic Evaluation and Analysis. Voice of Russia

The Action Group is made up of the Secretaries-General of the UN and the Arab League; the Foreign Ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – as well as the Turkish Foreign Minister; the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; and the Foreign Ministers of Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar, in their respective roles related to the Arab League.