U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that she welcomes the news of the apparent cease-fire between opposition forces and the government in Syria, but it is only a first step. Clinton told reporters after a meeting with Group of Eight foreign ministers in Washington that she “welcomed Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan's report that the violence in Syria, at least for the moment, has abated … If it holds, a cease-fire is an important step, but it represents just one element of the special envoy's plan.” The pressure needs to remain on the Syrian government to comply with all of the elements of Annan's plan, Clinton said. She said that Syrian troops must withdraw from cities and accept a political transition. “As we speak, our representatives in New York are consulting on a potential U.N. monitoring mission that would go to Syria under the right authorities, circumstances, and conditions. The United States supports sending an advance team immediately to begin this work. And both will need complete freedom of movement, unimpeded communications, and access throughout the country and to all Syrians, as well as firm security guarantees from all parties,” Clinton said.
