Syria to reject summit calls

Dubai: The Syrian government will reject any initiative made at the Arab League summit relating to the violence in the country, a foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday, adding it would only deal with Arab countries individually.

"Since its membership has been suspended, Syria will only deal with Arab countries based on state-to-state relationships. Therefore, we will not deal with any initiative issued by the Arab League at any level," spokesman Jihad Makdisssi said in a statement released to journalists.

Syria was suspended from the League in November over a brutal crackdown against the uprising against President Bashar Al Assad's rule. The violence that began a year ago has claimed nearly 10,000 lives according to rights groups.

This statement came as Arab foreign ministers yesterday supported the UN-backed peace plan to end the violence in Syria, but does not demand that the Syrian leader step down.

UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that Al Assad's regime had agreed to the proposal, a sticking point for the Syrian opposition which insists that any deal must require Al Assad's ouster.

Syria's closest ally Iran has also endorsed the plan to end violence but says the issue should be dealt with "patiently".

"Any hasty approach to the Syrian issue and the creation of a power vacuum in that country could have very damaging consequences for the region," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said.

Arab leaders in Baghdad are expected to endorse Annan's six-point proposal, which seeks a ceasefire and an inclusive political dialogue in what Russia and Iraq called a "last chance" for Syria.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon also urged Al Assad to "immediately" implement the six-point plan he reportedly accepted.

China and Russia also upped the pressure urging both their ally Syria and the opposition to honour commitments to halt the conflict.

Meanwhile, Syrian forces backed by tanks, swept early yesterday into the central Hama province town of Qalaat Al Madiq and nearby villages after a siege lasting more than two weeks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported intense gunfire and shelling.