World powers agree on steps for Syria – CNN.com

Geneva, Switzerland (CNN) — Members of the international community on Saturday forged an agreement for a transition to end the violence in and bring peace to Syria.

The first step should be a recommitment to a cease-fire by both sides and implementation of a U.N. and Arab League-backed six-point plan without waiting for the actions of others, Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan said.

A key to the process will be a transitional government, which Annan said could include members of the current Syrian regime. The make-up of such a body would be decided by the Syrians, he said.

“We are determined to work together urgently and intensively, to bring an end to the violence and the human rights abuses and the launch of a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition that meets the legit aspiration of the Syrian people,” Annan said.

The agreement also calls on the Syrian government to release detainees and allow journalists access to the country. The right to peaceful demonstrations must be respected, Annan said.

The agreement is a last-gasp attempt to end the carnage in Syria and contain a growing crisis that some diplomats warn could potentially engulf the entire region.

Ahead of the meeting, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Russia and China were making negotiations on the subject “very difficult.”

The United States and many other nations demand Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down to make way for a transitional unity government. Russia says his future must be decided solely by the Syrian people, with no outside interference.

In the end, the so-called “Action Group,” including China and Russia, agreed to the new plan.

Under the agreement, it remains possible for al-Assad to remain part of a transitional government, an idea unpalatable to many.

But in remarks with reporters, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the document makes it clear that there is no future for al-Assad in Syria.

“Assad will still have to go. He will never pass the mutual consent test, given the blood on his hands,” she said.

According to the agreement, the power to govern Syria will be vested in the transitional governing body, so all authority will be stripped from al-Assad if he refuses to step down.

It is significant that all of the countries were able to come to an agreement, Clinton said.

“Every day that has gone by without unity on the Security Council and among the states gathered here is a day that has given comfort to Assad and his cronies and supporters. What we have done here is to strip away the fiction that he and those with blood on their hands can stay in power,” she said.

Clinton said the plan should be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, which would allow for the possibility of sanctions against Syria if the requirements aren’t met.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the document should not be interpreted as outside powers imposing a transitional government on the Syrians.

“We consider it to be of key importance that there is no attempt in the document to impose upon the Syrian side any kind of transitional process,” he said.

The process has to come from inside Syria, he said.

via World powers agree on steps for Syria – CNN.com.