Syria pledges to respect Annan's full peace plan: China

BEIJING: China said Wednesday Syria's foreign minister had pledged to respect UN envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan and cooperate with a UN team sent to monitor a fragile ceasefire in the restive state.

"Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem... said Syria would continue to respect and implement Annan's 'six-point proposal'," China's foreign ministry quoted Muallem as telling his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in Beijing.

Muallem also said Damascus remained committed to implementing a ceasefire, withdrawing troops and cooperating with UN observers, it added.

The foreign minister is on a short visit to China to brief Beijing on his nation's latest efforts to implement Annan's peace proposal, which came into force last week and includes a full ceasefire and withdrawal of troops.

The ceasefire currently appears to be under threat, with reports of more civilians killed in fresh violence in Syria, where the United Nations estimates more than 9,000 people have been killed in 13 months of conflict.

A UN team has arrived in the restive nation to monitor the ceasefire, but diplomats say negotiations between Damascus and the advance six-member party have become deadlocked over whether they can operate across the whole country.

Muallem's comments come after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Damascus to honour Annan's plan in full, not just the promised ceasefire.

She pointed out that the proposal also means allowing peaceful demonstrations, releasing political prisoners and allowing a peaceful political transition to begin. (AFP)