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The U.N. and Arab League point man on Syria praised the top U.S. and Russian diplomats Wednesday for their latest efforts to forge a solution to the Syrian conflict.

Lakhdar Brahimi called remarks from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "the first hopeful news concerning that unhappy country in a very long time."

Speaking at a joint news conference Tuesday in Moscow, Kerry said he and Lavrov had agreed "as soon as is practicable, possibly and hopefully, by the end of this month" to "seek to convene an international conference."

The aim would be to implement last summer's Geneva communique brokered by Russia and the United States outlining how a transitional government could be formed.

If the conference takes place, it would be the first to bring together representatives of the warring sides, which have been unable to negotiate a settlement to the two-year conflict that has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

The opposition has adamantly refused any role for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in any transitional government. But Lavrov, without naming al-Assad, said he is "not interested in the fate of certain persons."

Kerry went further by telling reporters that "it's impossible for me, as an individual, to understand how Syria could be governed in the future by the man who has committed the things we know have taken place."

"But I'm not going to decide that tonight. I'm not going to decide that in the end. Because the Geneva communique says that the transitional government has to be chosen by mutual consent by the parties ... the current regime and the opposition," Kerry said.

Brahimi said he has urged the United States and Russia "to exercise leadership and work together to initiate a process to implement" the June 30 Geneva declaration.

"The statements made in Moscow constitute a very significant first step forward. It is nevertheless only a first step," Brahimi said in a prepared statement. "There is every reason to expect the three other permanent members of the Security Council as a whole and indeed all the Security Council members to work together amongst themselves and with the secretary-general to carry the process forward."
[/I More at http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/08/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?h
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Syria: Intervention is in Our Interest

know Americans are war-weary and eager to focus on our domestic and economic problems, not foreign affairs. I also know the situation in Syria is complex and there are no ideal options. But the basic choice we face is not complicated: Do the costs of inaction outweigh the costs of action? The events of the past 26 months have convinced me that they do.

The U.S. does not have to act alone, put boots on the ground or destroy every Syrian air-defense system to make a difference. We could strike Assad’s aircraft and Scud-missile launchers. We could destroy artillery and drive Assad’s forces from their posts. We could station Patriot-missile batteries just outside Syria to create safe zones across the border. http://swampland.time.com/2013/05/08/syria-intervention-is-in-our-inte
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