GENEVA — World powers agreed Saturday that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the bloodshed there but left open the question of what part President Bashar Al-Assad might play in the process. Peace envoy Kofi Annan said after talks in Geneva that the government should include members of Assad's administration and the Syrian opposition to pave the way for free elections. “It is for the people to come to a political agreement but time is running out," Annan said in concluding remarks. “We need rapid steps to reach agreement. The conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiations." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that Washington did not see any role for Assad in the new regime, even though there was no explicit call for him to cede power. “Assad will still have to go. He will never pass the mutual consent test," said Clinton. The talks had been billed as a last-ditch effort to halt the worsening violence in Syria but hit obstacles as Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, opposed Western and Arab insistence that he must quit the scene. The final communique said the transitional government “could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent". But in a victory for Russian diplomacy, it omitted language contained in a previous draft which explicitly said it “would exclude from government those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardize stability and reconciliation". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was “delighted" with the result as it meant no foreign solution was being imposed on Syria. Annan called the meeting to salvage a peace plan that has largely been ignored by the Assad government. He stressed that the transition must be led by Syrians and meet their legitimate aspirations. “No one should be in any doubt as to the extreme dangers posed by the conflict — to Syrians, to the region, and to the world," he said in opening remarks. Highlighting the deteriorating situation on the ground, Syrian government forces pushed their way into Douma on the outskirts of Damascus Saturday after weeks of siege and shelling. Fleeing residents spoke of corpses lying in the streets. Britain's ITV showed footage of clouds of black smoke over built-up areas and said warplanes had struck at targets in the suburb. The army also attacked pro-opposition areas in Deir Al-Zor, Homs, Idlib and the outskirts of Damascus, opposition activists said. — Agencies
