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| 2006 file photo of Annan and Assad |
UN-Arab League troubleshooter Kofi Annan, who meets President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today to press for a political solution to the conflict in Syria, carries “the broad outlines of a four-point plan for a political transition.”
Annan “may or may not” discuss the plan with Assad today, depending on his rapid assessment “of the mood in Damascus and the Syrian president’s preparedness to negotiate a political settlement” at this stage.
This is according to Rosanna Boumounsef, the authoritative political analyst who writes for Lebanon’s leading daily Annahar.
She quotes diplomatic sources as saying the outlines of the four-point transition plan are the following:
- Formation of an “all-Syria” government of national unity, as a first step
- Early presidential and parliamentary elections under international supervision
- Restructuring of the security and military services and negotiations on their future role prior to the proposed elections, as the said services cannot be trusted to usher the transitional phase
- Formation of national reconciliation committees to ensure continuity of the judiciary and other state institutions during the transitional phase
The diplomatic sources tell Ms Boumounsef that Annan will not air the plan if he deemed Assad ill-disposed to a political solution, in which case he would focus solely on humanitarian issues.
