Stances of world countries over Syria’s ceasefire were divided on Thursday between skeptical and hailing.

 

Stances of world countries over Syria’s ceasefire were divided on Thursday between skeptical and hailing.

The West voiced doubt Damascus could implement the ceasefire, with some countries like Britain slammed UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan’s plan as “frustrating”.

On the other hand, the two veto-wielding powers (Russia, China), along with Iran, welcomed the ceasefire.

 

US URGES RESOLUTE ACTION AGAINST SYRIA
For his part US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed in a telephone call that the UN Security Council, which gave its “blessing” to Annan's plan, needed to "take more resolute action" on Syria.

"The president and chancellor shared the concern that the Assad government was not complying with the terms of the agreement negotiated by Kofi Annan and continued to engage in unacceptable brutality against its own people", the White House said.

Susan Rice, the US envoy to the United Nations, said Assad's regime has “in fact intensified violence” since it first committed to Annan's six-point plan on April 1.
"Its commitments therefore have little, if any, credibility ... given that track record", Rice said.

BRITAIN’S CAMERON FRUSTRATED
British Prime Minister David Cameron slammed Annan’s plan, voicing “frustration” that the world was backing it.

"I feel an immense sense of frustration because the world has come together behind this Kofi Annan plan," Cameron told BBC radio from Southeast Asia, where he is on a trade mission.
"This is a plan, remember, that is not just backed by those of us who have been pushing for action on Syria, it's also backed by China and Russia. And yet Assad is deliberately flouting it”.

Cameron also urged Russia and China on Thursday to join the international community and help "tighten the noose" on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
"Now is the time to say to the Russians and Chinese, look at the man we are dealing with, look at the appalling way he is behaving. We need to go back to the UN and tighten the pressure, tighten the noose."

For its part, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday that Britain would seek tougher sanctions and would also intensify its support for the Syrian opposition if government forces did not adhere to the ceasefire.

RUSSIA: TIME NEEDED FOR PLAN TO WORK
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for more time for Annan’s plan to work; saying resident Bashar Assad assured Damascus would ready to comply with the ceasefire.

He said that some Arab and Western states had written off Annan's peace plan as a failure even before it had gone into effect and called on them to use their influence with the rebels to avoid future unrest.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "is assuring us that he is ready" to comply with the six-point peace initiative, Lavrov said in televised remarks from the sidelines of the G8 foreign ministers' meeting which convened in Washington to discuss the Syrian crisis and other global issues.

"No one has verified his statement. We propose putting it to a test and convincing the opposition to do the same," he said, speaking before the ceasefire came into effect at 0300 GMT.

At the meantime, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Gennady Gatilov, wrote on Twitter that after the Syrian government's statement of support for a ceasefire "now it is the armed opposition's turn -- those are the conditions of Annan's plan".

IRAN AGAINST FOREIGN INTERFERENCE

For his part, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said of Syria that "all violence in the country should be halted".

"The implementation of any plan and strategy in Syria should be done without pressure and interference of others", Ahmadinejad said.

 

 

CHINA WELCOMES
China's foreign ministry welcomed the Syrian government's decision to uphold a "comprehensive ceasefire", as it urged it to fulfill its commitments.

"This will help ease the tense situation in Syria, and is an important step towards a political solution," said ministry spokesman Liu Weimin, after the UN-backed ceasefire came into force,

 "We hope the Syrian government will earnestly fulfil their commitments and continue to take concrete actions to support and cooperate with Annan's mediation efforts," Liu said.