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BRICS Summit Defends Dialogue for Syria, Iran

The world's biggest emerging powers on Thursday said dialogue was the only answer to the crises in Syria and Iran, seeking to buttress their economic heft with a unified diplomatic clout.

At their fourth summit, the leaders of the BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- also pushed for the creation of a new joint development bank as a counterpoint to Western-backed aid lenders.

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At Least 13 Killed in Violence across Syria

Violence across Syria on Thursday killed at least 13 people, nearly all of them civilians, a monitoring group said.

Three civilians died as regime forces stormed villages near the town of Maaret al-Numan, in northwestern Idlib province, which has been under a relentless army assault since the start of the month, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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Jumblat to Cut Ties with Syrian Regime Completely, Supports Cabinet

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Thursday that he decided to boycott the Syrian regime once and for all, whether President Bashar Assad remained in power or he resigned.

“I’d rather end my life while I am at a rift with the Syrian regime,” Jumblat told As Safir newspaper.

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Assad Stresses 'Keenness on Lebanon's National Unity'

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday stressed “his keenness on national unity” in Lebanon, stressing that revolt-hit Syria was “heading towards stability.”

During a meeting with ex-MP Faisal al-Daoud, head of the Arab Lebanese Struggle Movement, Assad said he was “reassured about the situation in Syria, which is heading towards stability and the implementation of reforms in a manner that would meet the aspirations of the Syrian people.”

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Paris Says 'Friends of Syria' Meeting to Judge Assad on Peace Plan

The Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul Sunday will be a chance for the international community to judge if Bashar al-Assad's regime is implementing Kofi Annan's peace plan, France said.

"Bashar al-Assad has supposedly accepted Kofi Annan's peace plan," French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told a press conference on Wednesday.

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Fletcher Hails Lebanese Efforts to Maintain Stability

British Ambassador Tom Fletcher on Monday hailed the Lebanese authorities’ efforts to maintain stability in the country by preventing any repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon.

Fletcher held a meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace and discussed bilateral ties, the developments in the region, and the Arab League summit expected to be held in Baghdad on March 29.

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Syria to Reject Any Arab League Initiative to End Crisis

Damascus will reject any initiative stemming from this week's Arab League summit to end the year-long crisis in Syria, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.

"Syria will not cooperate with any Arab League initiative at any level," spokesman Jihad Makdissi said in a statement to AFP.

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Syria Peace Envoy Annan to Visit Tehran Next Week

The U.N. and Arab League's envoy to mediate the Syria conflict, Kofi Annan, will visit Tehran next week, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday.

"Kofi Annan is probably coming to Tehran on Monday," Salehi told reporters on the sideline of a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Arab Foreign Ministers to Debate Syria Resolution Calling for Talks

Arab foreign ministers met on Wednesday in Baghdad to debate a draft resolution calling on Damascus to end violence and hold talks with the opposition, on the eve of a landmark summit in Iraq.

The Syria crisis, in which monitors say almost 10,000 people have died in a bloody crackdown on a year-long revolt against President Bashar Assad, has loomed large over the first such Arab meetings to be held in Baghdad in over 20 years, which officials insist will tackle a wide variety of regional issues.

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China Calls on Syria to 'Honor Commitments'

China on Wednesday urged Syria's government and opposition factions to honor their commitments, after the regime accepted a proposal crafted by Kofi Annan designed to end the bloody conflict.

The comments came a day after aides to the United Nations and Arab League special envoy said the government of President Bashar Assad had accepted his six-point proposal, a move cautiously welcomed by Western nations.

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