the annan plan. will not. feel the same way and we don't need artificial an artificial timeline do you have a timeline for the palestinian issue no because everybody realizes the severely complex issue why should syria be any different for all. of us have russia. yesterday called for and tara clinton discussed the situation in syria as well and apart from the international efforts to promote there and then clamp they also spoke of a strategy to transfer political power doesn't mean that for the west shelf transfer of power is already solved. well again this is. one of the biggest contradictions essentially i think this is what the american said after their meeting with kofi annan but kofi annan himself said that in this league women should be achieved by the syrians themselves at least this was my impression when i talked to him on the phone yesterday we believe that outside police should not impose anything should not impose any models that are on the. syrians parties in the conflict we should just create con

it found itself back in the kofi annan peace plan, but if mr. annan goes towards criticizing the governments in damascus, which looks like he is doing, the chinese government might have some difficulties with that. >> michael, thanks very much. i should just point out that the pictures you saw of demonstrations there were not from today. they were from thursday. just to make that clear, those pictures were from thursday, not today. but we are expecting demonstrations across the country, as i said. let's move on now, because every year in england, thousands of girls and young women are forced into marriage by their parents and their relatives. under new proposals to be announced by the government, it's going to become a criminal offense in england, wales, and northern ireland to do that. the proposals would affect girls from pakistani, bangladeshi and indian communities, as ed thomas reports. >> this is the story of a young british girl forced to marry a man she'd never met before in pakistan. it's an animation for children, but it confronts a re

kofi annan did not raise it with the council. but he did raise it with journalists afterwards when he was asked about it. there is an idea of being discussed at the moment to create this contact between these countries and the security council to come together to say, we are facing a real crisis here and we have to be boldly realistic. or coldly realistic about what to do. and present the government in particular with a certain strategy for transition. but it does not sound like the plans for that contact group had evolved very far. i guess that will be discussed in the coming days and probably raised at the meeting of the g- 20, which will happen shortly. the secretary-general said these discussions would definitely continue there. >> that is the latest from the united nations. as the debate continues, u.s. lawmakers are also grappling with what they should do next when it comes to syria. john mccain advocates providing arms to the syrian opposition and he made this impassioned statement on the senate floor. >> how many more hav

we need to get together somewhere and the beast on the annan plan is based on the un security council resolutions that approve discipline and sanction the un observing mission in syria you know order to promote these important documents we need to have a frank serious discussion and agree that if we all support coffee n. and plan the coffin and plan and have all voted for it in the un security council. on paper let's now take serious steps to influence all the syrian parties in gauged in this conflict to force them to stop doing that and come to the negotiating table with them like firmly believe that if we work in this direction to do that on the road if we show solidarity and we work collectively i strongly believe that we will achieve positive results and after that we can start a political dialogue of course it should be based on the coffee annan plan. and this means that the opposition should come together in really for this dialogue and then talks should start between the government in older groups of the syrian opposition. that's because if this is basically. what our considera

this to happen and we need to do all we can to stop the violence this is our top priority and the annan plan offers such an opportunity. the most important thing is that it should be implemented by everybody including outside players and that's the cording to this plan on april twelfth when the ceasefire was achieved yes it is sometimes broken but that's that's the law of touring initial period the situation was more or less stabilized and thousands of people lay down arms used d.m.s. denounced by the government. and did which is a big number of if you can rinse off political prisoners were have been released even though more people who have been arrested of course an agreement was reached into this. between the syrian government and the un about providing access for humanitarian organisations to some provinces in order to implement the plan for humanitarian emergency aid approved by domestic use and serious progress has been achieved in providing access for join the lists and the media. they're now working in syria and finally like i said there is this mechanism observers on the ground

peace plan but kofi annan also urged the increasingly aggressive rebel forces to lay down arms. where the latest from new york. after hours of closed door consultations members of the security council and the secretary-general ban ki moon have come out first mr obama hugh moon saying that kofi annan six point peace plan the violence in syria remains at the center of the international community's efforts clearly nobody has calling this plan a failure and at this point nobody is indorsing any type of military intervention into syria the most important thing right now according to the secretary general is to keep syria from going from a tipping point to a breaking point joint special envoy for the u.n. an arab league mr kofi annan also has said to the media that what needs to be done now is for the security council to under stand and to come up with a plan in the best way to implement his six point peace plan and that is up to the security council to work out and decide while the security council unanimously recommitted its board or the kofi annan six point peace plan washington is

is attempting to exhaust all options one of those options according to a joint special envoy kofi annan is to form a contact group meeting one that could take place as soon as june thirtieth in geneva joint special envoy kofi annan says that in that contact group it would be a meeting of the permanent members of the security council members of the european union and also countries that have a direct influence on the opposition group in syria as well as the syrian government mr kofi annan says that he has made it clear that he believes that iran should be part of that contact group part of a solution that the international community would like to see in syria now or the u.s. and its western allies were very much against sitting down a table with iran or having iran play a role in solving the crisis in syria mr noms comments come as there are fresh reports about the slaughter of some twenty five men near the northern city of aleppo in syria from what has been described in by accounts from the opposition and syrian state media their rebels in syria were responsible for this ambush of cours

the kofi annan peace initiative has failed. it has also failed to bridge the divide between the syrian government and the opposition. it has also failed -- and this is the big point, david -- to even bridge the divide between the russian and chinese camps on the one hand and the american western camp on the other hand. >> but the russians do seem to be suggesting there could be something in a contact group, perhaps if it's brought in. is that realistic? >> i think that's really what's happening behind closed doors. i would argue it's very, very important. the russians are beginning to realize that the situation is extremely grave, not just for syria, but also for its neighbors, and that's why i think ideas are being floated around about bringing in turkey and iran and other powers in order to basically begin the process, of course, at that transition. the reason why russia and i would say kofi annan are proposing to bring iran in, because the idea is you want to really find ways and means to convince president assad that it's t

a new annan plan and, if so, how is it different? >> well, i mean, there is a feeling that the annan plan, which is supposed to start a political dialogue between the opposition and the government, has hit a dead end. the government is not willing to talk. the opposition is not willing to participate in talk. we're seeing all the violence unfolding. kofi annan has been looking for some way to recharge the diplomacy and he seems to be exploring this idea of setting up a contact group that would involve many of the members already in the security council, the united states, the europeans britain, france, and russia. it would also-- at least he's trying to include some of the key regional players who have an interest in the region, turkey, saudi arabia he floated the idea of iran but the americans are not that keen on sitting down with the iranians. but the idea is to achieve the same thing but bring in players who have more influence on syria. however russia has always been part of the political mediation. it has, perhaps, more influen

secretary kofi annan. it sounds like he didn't really have much good news today. >>reporter: so hillary clinton and he were talking about finding a way to look at possibility alternatives to the current plan, but clinton did not say much. but, annan sounded like he was scratching his head of what more could be done. >> some say the plans could be dead, the problem is the plan or the problem is the implementation. if it is the implementation how do you get that. and if it is the plan, what other options do we have? >>reporter: secretary of state, hillary clinton called for regime change and the united states and britain and france would like more sanctions but russia and china have not cooperated. >>shepard: and there are those in the middle of this, the people doing the fighting indicate they have lost faith in kofi annan. >>reporter: even with u.n. observers on the ground in syria the violence and blood shed have only gotten worse, syrian activists say 17 more people were killed today. government forces continue shelling civilians and women and children are being

so i met with kofi annan on friday. we talked through what his strategy would be. and he is working very hard to try to implement it. the redline for us was the inclusion of iran. we thought that would be a grave error. since we know that iran is not only supporting the assad regime, but actively mentoring, leading, encouraging not merely the regular army but the militias that are springing up, engaging in sectarian conflict. so we have a timeline in mind, to see whether or not this effort of kofi's can be successful. the outer limit of that is mid july when the security council has to decide whether or not to extend the mission. and certainly if there is no discernible movement by then, it will be very difficult to extend a mission. that is increasingly dangerous for the observers on the ground. secondly, i think that the challenge faced by so many from the near neighbors in the area to those further out is -- what one can realistically do to try to bring an end to the violence without seeing an increase in the activities of certain elements of the opposition that

mission first we agree to the kofi annan plan however what they say i'm convinced that we have delivered a lot on the six point peace plan we do not agree and will not agree with many of the statements in this regard especially those voiced by parties that are known for their hostility toward the kofi annan plan secondly like i said we did cooperate with the u.n. observer mission and provided it with every possible privilege and thirdly we ensured the observers personal security throughout their stay and in all of their movements around the country this is exactly what has enabled us to deliver on the peace plan in many aspects number four we did not prevent the observers from moving around syria and going any place they wanted. convinced and this is the opinion of the syrian government that the only feasible solution for the crisis we're facing is political dialogue supply me insurgents with any type of lethal weapon including communication equipment does nothing but impede a peaceful settlement and result in more bloodshed for syria and. the head of russia and the united states have ex

peace and void kofi annan has reiterated that iran has a role to play in mediating and then that to the audience in syria the comments was made though for a slew of declarations from western these opposing tehran being given any such rule . has more on the invoice be used in exactly one month the u.n. supervision mission in syria will expire and at this point the international community is attempting to exhaust all options one of those options according to joint special envoy kofi annan is to form a contact group meeting one that could take place as soon as june thirtieth in geneva joint special envoy kofi annan says that in that contact group it would be a meeting of the permanent members of the security council members of the european union and also countries that have direct influence on the opposition group in syria as well as the syrian government mr kofi annan says that he has made it clear that he believes that iran should be part of that contact group part of a solution that the international community would like to see in syria now are the u.s. and its western allies were very

kofi annan, who brokered a u.n. peace plan aimed at ending the violence, said what many on the ground already know. >> i must be frank and confirm that the plan is not being implemented. >> reporter: as annan spoke, syria continued to burn. the syrian military continued its assault on towns where civilians young and old were fleeing the shells raining down, and while the international community continues to wrangle over what it can do, syrians caught in the middle continue to cry out for help. >> that is nbc, and amon joins us now from cairo. good to see you again. this latest massacre of women and children shows us again the u.n. really can't do much more to stop syria without the help of russia and china. they want tougher sanctions, but russia and china have now come out and said they're not going to go for that. where do we go from here? >> it's absolutely right. there is a paralysis now that is so evident for many people in the region. the arab countries that want to supply weapons and support to the opposition

special envoy kofi annan has largely been ignored. he says that syria is on the brink of an all-out civil war and the international community must act swiftly. >> we must find a way on the common ground to act and act as one. >> u.s. officials attending an anti-terrorism conference in turkey called for an orderly transition of power in damascus. >> syria will not and cannot be stable and democratic until assad goes. >> clinton is sending a representative to moscow. whereby the president' transfers power. russia would have to be brought on board. >> we have more from damascus where our freelance journalist is on the line. the assad regime is denying any involvement in this massacre. what is the explanation? to the syrian people believe it? >> the syrian people do not trust the regime. there is no information. that is why in situations like this, and no one knows what is really going on. 78 civilians are dead. the un observers verified the issues. it is really very, very complicated. no one knows what is going on. >> some reports are su

there is no real alternative to the plan of kofi annan. we have to be realistic. the free syrian army is only one branch of the opposition. it is a chaotic situation in syria. the failure of this peace plan of kofi annan means the road to a civil war is wide open now. >> how widespread is the violence in syria at the moment? >> the whole country is in turmoil with two exceptions. that is the capital, damascus, and economic center of the country. this is very important. it means the sunni merchant class in serious the continues to stay close to the syrian regime. therefore, it is simply an illusion to assume that the government is weak and that it is about to be toppled. they will see very bloody months ahead. >> ok. we saw a report about the eu. are we expecting any change on russia's report for bashar al- assad? >> the russians do not care about the syrian regime. they are concerned about their own interests on the military, political, and economic level. for them, syria is an important ally and they don't see -- wish to see a regime change in syria as it happene

help leave service carry out their plan and therefore contribute to the implementation of the kofi annan plan secondly there was never a time in the past two months when we would deny the observers access whenever they wanted to visit and inspect any area in syria except for places insurgents prevented the visiting now let me give you a short and straightforward answer we have identified three or four principles for interacting with the u.n. mission first we agreed to the kofi annan plan however what they say i'm convinced that we have delivered a lot on the six point peace plan we do not agree and will not agree with many of the statements in this regard especially those voiced by parties that are known for their hostility toward the kofi annan plan secondly like i said we did cooperate with the u.n. observer mission and provided it with every possible privilege and thirdly we ensured the observers personal security throughout their stay and in all of their movements around the country this is exactly what has enabled us to deliver on the peace plan in many aspects that number four we d

efforts what is the solution here if if part of the world says well we don't want the russia kofi annan plan and the gangs and opposition leaders world community says there is no other way. really the sad part of the scenario is that the syrian people are the ones who are not being given the power to decide their own future and their own government and at the end of the day the syrian people have to live together united under one government in peace with their neighbors and so certainly instigating violence and we know that foreign fighters are going in not only weapons from the gulf facilitated by the west but also foreign fighters are going and stoking we know that here in lebanon there are fighters being trained in the north and they go across the border frequently to stir up trouble and to create more antagonism between sunni and the other way community and so this is really quite devastating and like i said the syrian people are the ones who are not being given the chance to decide and so really it is only kofi annan plan that is allowing the syrian people to move their own desires

security council to make sure the kofi annan plan becomes a reality we must also develop edition the d.v.d.'s and each and every country and i'm speaking on behalf of the german republic today. each and every country must do everything it can to prevent a civil war in syria and we must take the necessary political steps to that end also we. we are happy that the coming consultation on iraq will take place in moscow we have also discussed this. myth and we're also have people that transit needs to initiative that will keep under mr putin's presidency. we have covered all these important issues. we've had a comprehensive and intensive discussion of that we'll have more time on during the g twenty summit and it during our other meetings this and here once again welcome was eventually nationalities in china you know what i was just concluded our detailed conversation with them is on a little bit murky it was productive is always a committee and the bulletin atmosphere was open but really really we reaffirmed our commitment to continue political log to you intensify cooperation between ru

that have direct influence on the opposition group in syria as well as the syrian government mr kofi annan says that he has made it clear that he believes that iran should be part of that contact group part of a solution that the international community would like to see in syria now are the u.s. and its western allies were very much against sitting down at a table with iran or having iran play a role in solving the crisis in syria mr anonymous comments come as there are fresh reports about the slaughter of some twenty five men near the northern city of aleppo in syria from what has been described in by accounts from opposition and syrian state media there rebels in syria were responsible for this ambush of course a thorough independent investigation has not been conducted yet but what is quite clear is that the massacres in cities throughout syria are getting bolder with some. ins of immense brutality the violence officials have been warning is getting to a very dire point and at this point the u.n. mission in syria remains suspended with limited activity for weeks to go before potentiall

however estimates of casualties vary dramatically as the timing of the slaughter just ahead of kofi annan briefing to the u.n. security council raises suspicions. global political focus shifts to the east this thursday as delicate rainy and afghan issues of discussed in beijing have anywhere putin met with the country's leaders. and the increased cases of assaults on women in egypt's tahrir square reveal the plight of female protesters whose hopes for democratic change is off bathing as islamist drive to take a grip on power. internationally isn't comment twenty four hours a day you're watching on t.v. it's being reported that syria has suffered another massacre in the province there are however conflicting accounts as to the number of victims and estimates ranging from nine to several dozen or so so unclear who was behind the atrocity as artie's national explains from syria you may find some of the images in this report disturbing. there is even more confusion about this latest massacre here in syria than all the previous ones and a lot of the details of alleged witness accounts and vide

council and the secretary-general ban ki moon have come out first mr obama ki-moon saying that kofi annan six point peace plan to stop the violence in syria remains at the center of the international community's efforts it is not a plan that anyone says has failed the most important thing right now according to the secretary general is to keep syria from going from a tipping point to a breaking point the un chief says that the danger of a civil war in syria is very imminent and it is very important for the international community to flee to prevent any escalation of violence now the un joint joint special envoy for the u.n. and arab league mr kofi annan also has said to the media that what needs to be done now is for the security council to under stand and to come up with a plan in the best way to implement his six point peace plan and that is up to the security council to to work out and decide but at this point this peace plan is still what the international community is surrounding and supporting what mr annan also said is that the situation in syria is not similar in any way to libya

all parties agree the peace plan proposed by the envoy kofi annan was the best way to avoid civil war. it's not to say they see eye to eye on how to resolve the conflict. gordon has the latest. >> the european union top officials arrived over the weekend to be welcomed by vladimir putin. a first meeting with him since he returned as president of russia. at today's talks, the violence in syria is on the agenda, with european officials stressing that russia's role is critical in persuading its allies to stem the violence and make kofi annan's cease-fire plan work. >> the opinion and russia might have some diverging assessments, but we fully agree that the kofi annan plan provides the best opportunity to break the cycle of violence in syria, avoiding civil war, and finding a peaceful, lasting solution. but while european and western officials laid the blame for the violence largely on the syrian government, russian officials argue responsibility for events including recent massacres is shared with rebels fighting to topple president assad. observers fear the bloodshed is looking more and

the idea that the united states is trying to undermine the annan plan the annan plan can work on its face i mean that's very clear but pillory clinton made it perfectly clear that you want to do everything that you can to cooperate with kofi anon so the idea that somehow we're sabotaging this is ridiculous we'll let you hear as i heard anyone say in the let me let me ask amy also if syria you will really understand that he wants to support these claims gentlemen thing to say the moment you come on here well no to just lie then i think we're a lot of things we disagree on this program that's why we're doing it ok but her when secretary clinton says assad must go i mean how does that help the peace process. it helps the peace process and because there are been roughly twelve thousand people that have been killed on the streets of syria and if you ask those people would you like to see assad go the answer would be yes and if you had if you were to poll the syrians fairly that would be the response you get as well so it's perfectly clear that if you have someone who is butchering his own