By Middle East correspondent Anne Barker, wires
Updated July 09, 2012 07:28:48
Photo: A handout photo shows the Syrian army staging exercises in an undisclosed location. (Reuters/SANA/Handout)
Syria's armed forces have staged a series of military exercises to demonstrate their defensive powers as international envoy Kofi Annan arrives in Damascus to try to revive his peace plan.
Mr Annan is in Syria for new talks with the President Bashar al Assad in another bid to reach agreement on a peace plan and ceasefire.
The visit comes barely 24 hours after Mr Annan's admission that the plan has so far failed to end the 16 months of bloodshed in Syria.
But in an interview with France's Le Monde daily, he stressed that Russia and Iran must not be sidelined from peace efforts.
"Russia wields influence but I am not sure that the events will be determined by Russia alone... Iran is an actor. It has to be part of the solution. It has influence and we cannot ignore it," Mr Annan said.
He also expressed irritation that while Russia and Iran were mentioned by some as stumbling blocks to peace, "little is said about other countries which send arms, money, and have a presence on the ground."
The visit coincided with Syria's armed forces staging large-scale military exercises apparently to demonstrate its ability to defend the country against any possible aggression.
Syrian television aired video of a variety of missiles being fired from launchers on land and from ships, with Syrian defence minister Dawud Abdallah Rahijia in attendance.
"Naval Forces conducted an operational live fire exercise on Saturday, using missiles launched from the sea and coast, helicopters and missile boats, simulating a scenario of repelling a sudden attack from the sea," Syrian news agency SANA said, adding that manoeuvres would continue for several days.
The US, meanwhile, says Syria's opposition forces are growing more effective to the point that the Syrian regime could face a catastrophic assault by rebel fighters.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Afghanistan in Tokyo, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that time was running out for Mr Assad and his regime.
"It should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime - their days are numbered," Ms Clinton said. "The sand is running out of the hourglass."
Mr Assad has accused the United States of trying to destabilise his country.
In an interview due to be broadcast on German television later on Sunday, Mr Assad said countries providing material and political support to the rebels were hindering Mr Annan's peace plan.
"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," Mr 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."
ABC/wires Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, syrian-arab-republic
First posted July 09, 2012 07:02:04
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