Assad: Peace if armed groups end 'terror'

Syria will seek to carry out U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan, but armed groups must end their "terrorist acts," President Bashar Assad said. Syria will "spare no effort" to support the plan, Assad said in a letter to officials of leading emerging economies meeting in New Delhi. "In return for the formal commitment to the success of Annan's mission, it is necessary to obtain commitments from the other parties to halt the terrorist acts by the armed groups and to withdraw the weapons of these groups and call on them to stop their terrorist acts," said Assad's letter to leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as BRICS countries, which represent almost half of the world's population. Russia and China are key Syrian allies. Annan must also persuade countries backing Syria's military opposition to end all types of support immediately, Assad said Saudi Arabia pressed Jordan March 12 to open its border with Syria to let weapons reach rebels fighting Assad's regime, officials from both countries told The Wall Street Journal. Jordan hasn't yet agreed, the officials said. Washington has opposed furnishing arms to the rebels, fearing that weapons could end up in the hands of al-Qaida or other extremist groups. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said late Thursday such a policy could shift. The Syrian opposition appeared to be uniting, a development he said could help clear the way for international aid, including arms, the Journal reported. Britain said it was doubling non-military aid to Assad opponents and expanding its scope to equipment, possibly including secure telephones to help activists communicate without fear of detection and attack. The aid, worth $800,000, "includes agreement in principle for practical non-lethal support to them inside Syria," Foreign Secretary William Hague said. Assad's letter called on "neighboring countries" harboring Syria's military opposition "to stop it immediately" if the Annan peace plan is to succeed, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Turkey, a former Syrian ally bordering Syria to the north, now hosts the rebel Free Syrian Army, a paramilitary force composed largely of defected Syrian soldiers fighting troops loyal to Assad. Turkey hosted a conference of Syrian dissidents Tuesday and is to host a "Friends of Syria" meeting of mostly Western and Arab countries Sunday to discuss a political transition and the opposition's vision for Syria, officials said. Officials said the Friends group, initiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would seek to find a solution to the Syrian crisis outside the U.N. Security Council, after Russia and China vetoed a resolution on Syria there. Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad endorsed the Annan peace plan Thursday and called for it to be implemented "immediately and completely." The league members dropped an earlier demand that Assad give up the presidency. Annan's six-point peace plan, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, calls for a Syrian cease-fire, possibly under U.N. monitoring, a withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centers, humanitarian assistance, release of prisoners and free movement and access for journalists. It does not call for Assad to give up power. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the summit: "The world is waiting for [Syrian] commitments to be translated into action. The key here is implementation. There is no time to waste." At least 23 opposition members were killed in Syria Thursday, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Fifteen regime soldiers were also killed, SANA reported. It was impossible to corroborate the claims because the Assad government is now permitting journalists to cover events in the country. The United Nations says the estimated tally of dead in the 13-month conflict is more than 9,000, up from 8,000 a few weeks ago.