Despite the unabated violence, the Syrian government and opposition groups renewed support for a peace plan during meetings with a United Nations official, dpa quoted the UN as saying Monday. The two sides met with Herve Ladsous, the UN peacekeeping operations chief, first in Homs and then in the capital Damascus during his four-day visit to assess the situation on the ground. "During the meeting (in Homs), both sides expressed their commitment to the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan and noted the diminishing of violence in the city since the arrival of the military observers," the UN said. Ladsous "affirmed that the focus now needs to be on building dialogue and confidence between the parties," the UN said. Annan's plan calls for an end to the violence, relief provisions for Syrians in need, release of detainees, international media access to the country, and the start of inclusive talks for a multi-party political system. The UN said Ladsous held talks in Damascus with government and opposition representatives on the safety and security of UN unarmed military personnel deployed to monitor the April 12 ceasefire. It said Ladsous stressed to the Syrian parties, both inside and outside the country, that the conflict can end only when they choose the path of dialogue. The UN Supervision Mission in Syria is currently composed of 260 ceasefire observers with another 40 expected to arrive soon. It is authorized to have a maximum of 300 observers for a three-month period, starting from April.
