Dubai: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Saturday that no political solution was possible in Syria while "terrorist" groups were destabilising the country.
"Syria is ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing," state news agency Sana quoted Al Assad as telling his guest.
"No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability," the Syrian leader said after about two hours of talks with the former UN secretary-general.
Qatari Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo that it was time to send Arab and foreign troops to Syria.
"The time has come to apply the proposal to send Arab and international troops to Syria," Shaikh Hamad said during a meeting of top diplomats. Qatar also told Arab ministers it was time to recognise the Syrian National Council as Syria's legitimate representative.
At a later meeting, Gulf ministers told Russia that its failure to take a tough line on Syria had allowed killings to continue and urged Moscow to back an Arab peace effort that includes a call for Al Assad to step aside.
Sergei Lavrov gave no indication that Moscow's position had shifted. He told Gulf ministers that Russia was not protecting Al Assad but said no one side could be blamed for the violence.
"We must stop issuing hollow resolutions and taking spineless positions," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said in a speech addressing Arab ministers and Lavrov.
"The position of those countries which thwarted the UN Security Council resolution and voted against the resolution of the General Assembly gave the Syrian regime a licence to extend its brutal practices against the Syrian people," he added.
