UNITED NATIONS: UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan while issuing a new pleas for unity ahead of a key international meeting on Syrian conflict said "external powers" have encouraged violence in Syria.
"Many external powers are deeply involved. Despite formal unity behind the six-point plan, mutual mistrust has made them work at cross-purposes," Washington Post quoted him on Friday.
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Kofi Annan said without naming the countries that, "Intentionally or otherwise, they have encouraged the government and parts of the opposition to believe that force is the only option. This serves no one's interest -- least of all that of the Syrian people."
Kofi Annan is to meet with the foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China in Geneva on Saturday in a bid to get international support for a transitional political plan for Syria.
Russia, Syria's last main ally, has blocked Western efforts to impose sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad and insisted that his removal cannot be forced by outside nations.
The United States, Britain and France have all demanded tough action, including sanctions, to back Annan's effort to halt the conflict, which activists say has left more than 15,000 people dead.
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