Annan, Syria agree new approach

Talking to reporters after a two-hour meeting with the Syrian president, Annan said "we agreed on an approach which I will share with the armed opposition." He said the talks were "candid and constructive."

"I also stressed the importance of moving ahead with a political dialogue which the president accepts," Annan said, without giving details on the new framework.

Annan, who went on to Iran after speaking to al-Assad on Monday, said in an interview with French daily Le Monde on Saturday that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria had failed.

He also told the paper that he believed longtime Syrian ally Iran "should be part of the solution" to the 16-month old crisis in Syria.

At the heart of Annan's six-point peace plan was a cease-fire, which should have begun in mid-April, between government forces and rebels seeking to topple al-Assad, to be followed by political dialogue.

But the truce never took hold, and almost 300 UN observers sent to monitor the cease-fire have suspended their work because of the escalating violence.

Al-Assad: 'A very good plan'

In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD on Sunday, al-Assad said that countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar were blocking Annan's plan by supplying arms and other support to Syrian rebels.

"We know that [Annan] is coming up against countless obstacles but his plan should not be allowed to fail, it is a very good plan," al-Assad said. "The biggest obstacle is that many countries do not even want this plan to succeed, so they offer political support and continue to provide the terrorists in Syria with arms and money."

Russia halts new weapons deals

Meanwhile, on Monday, Russia announced that it would not sign new weapons contracts with Syria until the situation there calms down.

Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, deputy chief of the Russian military and technical cooperation agency, told Russian news agencies on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show south-west of London that Russia would continue, however, with previously agreed exports.

Russia has been harshly criticized by western powers for stalling progress, not least because of its weapons sales to Syria. But in his interview with Le Monde, Annan said that Russia was too often singled out and that there were many other countries that "send arms, money and have a presence on the ground."

ng/jlw (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)