Arab League Ministerial Meeting on Syria Postponed
An Arab League ministerial meeting slated for Saturday to mull a response to Syria which wants the bloc to lift sanctions in return for allowing in observers to monitor its deadly unrest was postponed.
Arab League chief Nabi al-Arabi suggested convening the meeting in mid-December at the bloc's Cairo headquarters, a diplomat said.
The meeting was due to be held on Saturday in Qatar to discuss the next move concerning the crackdown on protesters in Syria.
Damascus, which blames "armed terrorist gangs" for the violence, meanwhile appealed to the international community to help it find an "honorable exit" to the crisis and stem the flow of weapons into Syria.
"We are appealing to the outside world and our brothers in the Arab world to help Syria (prevent the) channeling (of) weapons" into the country, foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi said on Friday, speaking in English.
"If we all work together we can find an honorable exit to the crisis."
The bloodshed, however, continues to claim more lives, with activists reporting more than 50 deaths in less than 48 hours.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said the monitors would be allowed to enter the country under certain conditions, according to the text of a letter to Arabi published by Syrian newspapers.
If Syria observers into the country all the Arab bloc's sanctions would become "null and void", the letter said.
Assad said he would not be swayed by pressure, the official SANA news agency reported on Thursday.
"Syria is strong, thanks to its people and the support of friends," he told a delegation of Lebanese Druze clerics in Damascus.
Source: Agence France Presse
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