Arab League chief will head to Damascus bearing initiative to solve crisis

Concerned with the latest developments in Syria, the Arab League finally held a meeting on Sunday, after which it declared what it called a ‘peace initiative’ aimed at solving the ongoing crisis.

BLOODSHED IN SYRIA MUST END

According to a statement issued early on Sunday after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi would head to Damascus bearing "an initiative to solve the crisis."
  
The ministers "asked the secretary general of the Arab League to carry out an urgent mission to Damascus and transmit the Arab initiative to resolve the crisis to the Syrian leadership," the statement said.
  
The ministers also called for the bloodshed in Syria to end "before it is too late" and for "respecting the right of the Syrian people to live in security and respecting their legitimate aspirations for political and social reforms."
  

RUSSIA TOP ENVOY TO VISIT SYRIA
It was unclear when Arabi would visit Damascus, but Russia also announced it was sending a top envoy to the Syrian capital on Monday, Itar-Tass news agency reported. "A very important envoy from Moscow" will visit Damascus on Monday, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.
  
Russia staunchly opposes bids by the United States and European powers to push for a UN Security Council resolution targeting Assad, and has offered a counter-resolution.
 
SYRIA WARNS CITIZENS
Meanwhile, the Syrian authorities warned protesters to stay away from demonstrations in the capital being urged on Facebook. "The interior ministry asks citizens not to respond to calls on social networks to take part in demonstrations and gatherings in the principal squares of Damascus, for their own safety," it said in a statement carried by the official SANA news agency.