BEIRUT — Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus Sunday evening for talks with President Bashar Al-Assad, his spokesman said, a day after the international peace envoy admitted that his peace plan had so far failed to end 16 months of bloodshed. Syria's navy fired live missiles from ships and helicopters over the weekend, in an exercise aiming at demonstrating its ability to “defend Syria's shores against any possible aggression", state media said. Syrian television aired video of a variety of missiles being fired from launchers on land and from ships, with Defense Minister Dawud Abdallah Rahijia in attendance. “Naval Forces conducted an operational live fire exercise Saturday, using missiles launched from the sea and coast, helicopters and missile boats, simulating a scenario of repelling a sudden attack from the sea," Syrian news agency SANA said, adding that maneuvers would continue for several days. Opposition figures have called for a no-fly zone and NATO strikes against Syrian forces, similar to those carried out in Libya last year. Assad said countries providing material and political support to the rebels were hindering Annan's peace plan. “We know that (Annan) is coming up against countless obstacles but his plan should not be allowed to fail, it is a very good plan," Assad told German television channel Das Erste. Annan arrived with deputy Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad at the Dama Rose hotel in Damascus, where UN observers have been staying since suspending their patrols because of a steep increase in the level of violence. — Reuters
