Syria's opposition appeals for Russian support

A delegation of Syrian opposition figures is visiting Moscow to discuss international efforts to find a political solution to the violence.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is holding talks with Abdulbaset Sayda, head of the Syrian National Council. Mr Lavrov’s deputy said Russia wanted to move the opposition “towards realistic and constructive positions”.

Later, international envoy Kofi Annan will brief the UN Security Council on how he plans to revive his peace plan. Mr Annan held talks with officials in Baghdad and Tehran on Tuesday, and reiterated his view that Iran – Syria’s closest ally – had a role to play in resolving the conflict, despite US objections.

The former UN secretary general also said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had proposed altering his peace initiative so the most violent areas would be pacified first.

“He made a suggestion of building an approach from the ground up in some of the districts where we have extreme violence to try and contain the violence in these districts and, step by step, build up and end the violence across the country,” Mr Annan told reporters in Tehran.