The Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said on Saturday violence in Syria must stop to start implementation of a six-point peace plan put forward by international mediator Kofi Annan. Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Arabi said in a joint press conference with OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu after talks at the league's Cairo headquarters that a ceasefire is a key demand, voicing his hope that violence would come to halt with the arrival of more international monitors later this month. Al-Arabi said cessation of violence was a precondition for any political move, but added the 22-member organization had taken preparations to host a meeting of the Syrian opposition May 16-17 to come up with a unified position and a declaration to be passed on by Annan to the Syrian government in order to name interlocutors to start the political track with the opposition. Ihsanoglu said the main problem in Syria was the absence of international consensus on next moves, pledging OIC support of Annan's plan.
