Kofi Annan criticizes ‘Western & Arab States’ on providing arms and money to Syria

The special envoy for the United Nations and Arab League, Kofi Annan, expressed regret over failure of Syria’s Peace Plan , in an interview to French Daily Le Monde on Saturday. He criticized iniquitous involvement of other states in addition to Russia in Syria’s affairs. Pointing on west’s destructive competition over Syria in a very subtle statement, he said: ‘‘the evidence shows that we have not succeeded,’’ and ‘‘Very few things are said about other countries that send arms and money and weigh on the situation on the ground.”

Moreover, Kofi Annan also envisioned a ‘role of Iran into Syria’s solution’ for it being a longtime ally to Syrian regime throughout the uprising. He said: “Iran is a player and it should be a part of the solution and we can't ignore that.” Kofi Annan’s consideration for Iran’s role in Syria’s peace plan is yet unclear. However, political analysts may apprehend that where rest of peace advocates are failed to achieve any success in Syrian crisis, Iran, for its significant importance in the region, may have been given a chance to participate in upcoming conferences on the said subject which, though, US has often refused.

Further discussing Russia’s role in Syria’s crisis Annan said, “Russia has an influence on the situation in Syria, but I am not sure that the events will be determined by Russia only." Also, in another exclusive interview with the Guardian on Friday, Annan reportedly warned the west, Arab States and Russia for their ‘destructive competition’ over the Middle East region which potentially risks massive civil war with its spillover effect to the neighboring countries.

Annan reiterated that, despite disagreements, the support of the entire UN Security Council to the Syria Peace Plan in Geneva was a significant move towards solution of Syria’s crisis and all states’ actors must strive to make it work. According to the current updates by CNN on Syria’s affairs, U.S Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton has said that peace plan brokered by Annan has been thus far failed but current major defections from Syria indicates that days of Syrian regimes are numbered.

The highly grim situation of Syrian crisis based on 16 months long uprising, with no successful peace plan, is raising serious questions not only to the Syrian regime but also to the naked power struggles on the west’s part. This is a harsh fact that Syria’s crisis has become sufficiently dangerous and nasty involving more than 12,000 deaths since March 2011. It is high time that UN makes a neutral and peace- focused intervention in Syria without being influenced and affected by any state’s power motives and draws itself back once the target of peace is achieved.

Source: The CNN & The Guardian