Annan urges Syria to stick to ceasefire commitments

GENEVA - International envoy Kofi Annan welcomed Sunday the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution to authorize a UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), and urged all parities in the country to work with UN monitors to consolidate the fragile ceasefire.

"This is now a pivotal moment for the stabilization of (Syria)," Annan, UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria, said in a statement issued in Geneva.

Annan said the Syrian government in particular must desist from the use of heavy weapons, withdraw such weapons and armed units from population centers, and fully implement its commitments under his six-point plan.

He said that the work of the UNSMIS should help create conditions conducive to the launching of the much-needed political process, which would address the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Syrian people.

"I call on the Government and the opposition and all the people of Syria to prepare to engage in such a process as a matter of utmost priority," he said.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously decided to approve the deployment to Syria of up to 300 unarmed UN military observers in order to monitor a fragile ceasefire between the Syrian government forces and armed opposition fighters.