US tries to get Russia to raise the pressure

A UNITED States special envoy met Russian officials yesterday as part of Washington’s push for a political transition in Syria that would see president Bashar al-Assad leave power.

Senior US state department official Fred Hof was sent by secretary of state Hillary Clinton to hold talks with Russian deputy foreign ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov.

Both sides again endorsed UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, despite recent atrocities leading to doubts it is capable of ending the violence in Syria.

While the US wants Russia to put more pressure on Mr Assad, Moscow says western and Arab nations must use their influence to push insurgents fighting for the Syrian leader’s downfall to halt the violence and hold talks with the government.

Russia has so far resisted global pressure to change its stance on Syria.