Brahimi says has Syria plan that world powers may adopt

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby (R) speaks with U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo December 30, 2012. REUTERS photo

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said on Sunday he has a proposal to end the deadly 21-month conflict in Syria "that could be adopted by the international community." "I have discussed this plan with Russia and Syria... I think this proposal could be adopted by the international community," the UN and Arab League envoy said in Egypt after meeting League chief Nabil al-Arabi.
 
The situation in Syria "is very bad and getting worse by the day," added Brahimi a day after warning in Moscow that Damascus faced a choice between "hell or the political process." "There is a proposal for a political solution based on the Geneva declaration foreseeing a ceasefire, forming a government with complete prerogatives and a plan for parliamentary and presidential elections," he said, referring to a failed peace initiative that world powers agreed to in Geneva in June.
 
"Either there is a political solution in Syria" or the country risks a descent into a Somalia-like situation, Brahimi told reporters.
 
Russia on Saturday acknowledged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will not be persuaded to quit, but insisted there is still a chance of finding a political solution.
 
Saturday's talks between Brahimi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came amid signs that key Syrian ally Moscow was beginning to distance itself from Assad.
 
Lavrov said both he and Brahimi agreed there was hope for a solution as long as world powers put pressure on both sides.
 
"The confrontation is escalating. But we agree the chance for a political solution remains," Lavrov said.
 
Assad's departure is a given for the Syrian opposition before any national dialogue such as that under the Geneva initiative can take place.
 
The international action group on Syria comprises the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and representatives of the Arab League, the UN and EU and Turkey.