Assad sends envoy to Moscow for talks on ending Syria's conflict

The Syrian senior diplomat is expected to discuss the UN mediator's proposals for ending the conflict. Russia, meanwhile, has signaled growing acceptance of President Assad exiting power.

By Erika Solomon,?Reuters / December 26, 2012

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow, December 20. Any solution to the conflict in Syria must ensure President Bashar al-Assad's forces and his opponents do not simply swap roles and fight on forever, Putin said on Thursday.

Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

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Syrian President?Bashar al-Assad?sent a senior diplomat to?Moscow?on Wednesday to discuss proposals to end the conflict convulsing his country made by international envoy?Lakhdar Brahimi, Syrian and Lebanese sources said.

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Brahimi, who saw?Assad?on Monday and is planning to hold a series of meetings with Syrian officials and dissidents in?Damascus?this week, is trying to broker a peaceful transfer of power, but has disclosed little about how this might be done.

More than 44,000 Syrians have been killed in a revolt against four decades of?Assad?family rule, a conflict that began with peaceful protests in March last year, but has since descended into civil war.

A video posted by rebels on Wednesday showed the bodies of dozens of soldiers executed by a roadside. At least one of them appeared to have been beaten to death. The?United Nations?and rights group say the military and rebels have both committed war crimes, but have so far placed most of the blame on the?army.

Past peace efforts have floundered, with world powers divided over what has become an increasingly sectarian struggle between mostly Sunni Muslim rebels and?Assad's security forces, drawn primarily from his Shiite-rooted Alawite minority.

Deputy Foreign Minister?Faisal Makdad?flew to?Moscow?to discuss the details of the talks with Brahimi, said a Syrian security source, who would not say if a deal was in the works.

However, a Lebanese official close to?Damascus?said Makdad had been sent to seek Russian advice on a possible agreement.

He said Syrian officials were upbeat after talks with Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League?envoy, who met Foreign Minister?Walid Moualem?on Tuesday a day after his session with?Assad, but who has not outlined his ideas in public.

"There is a new mood now and something good is happening," the official said, asking not to be named. He gave no details.

Russia, which has given?Assad?diplomatic and military aid to help him weather the 21-month-old uprising, has said it is not protecting him, but has fiercely criticized any foreign backing for rebels and, with?China, has blocked U.N. Security Council action on?Syria.

Seeking A Settlement

A?Russian Foreign Ministry?source said Makdad and an aide would meet Foreign Minister?Sergei Lavrov?and Mikhail Bogdanov, the Kremlin's special envoy for?Middle East?affairs, on Thursday, but did not disclose the nature of the talks.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/XiIfwnAuGtY/Assad-sends-envoy-to-Moscow-for-talks-on-ending-Syria-s-conflict

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