International peace envoy Kofi Annan said he handed over a set of “concrete proposals” aimed at defusing the Syria crisis during a second round of talks Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad. “I presented a set of concrete proposals which would have a real impact on the situation on the ground and which will help launch a process aimed at putting an end to this crisis,” he told reporters after the meeting. “Our discussions focused on the core objectives of this process, the immediate stop to the violence and the killing, access for humanitarian agencies and the start of a political dialogue,’ Annan added, reading from a prepared statement. “The realistic response is to embrace change and reforms; reforms that would create a solid foundation for a democratic Syria, a peaceful, stable pluralistic and prosperous society based on the rule of law and respect for human rights,” he said.
The former UN chief said he had told Assad that his main preoccupation was “the welfare of the Syrian people that we should place the interest of the people at the centre of all of our efforts.” Annan, a Ghanaian, added: “I have urged the president to read the old African proverb, ‘You can’t turn the wind so turn the sail’.” Syrian state television had said there was a “positive atmosphere” to a first round of talks on Saturday between Assad and the former UN chief, their first since Annan’s appointment as United Nations-Arab League envoy on the conflict.
