Assad Speech Leaves U.N. Leader Disappointed
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Version 0 of 1. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, expressed dismay over a defiant speech on Sunday by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, in which Mr. Assad justified his attempts to crush the nearly two-year-old uprising against him, ignored demands that he step down to allow for a political transition and declared that his armed opponents were foreign puppets. In a statement released on Monday, Mr. Ban said Mr. Assad’s speech had not contributed “to a solution that could end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people.” Yet there was no indication that Lakhdar Brahimi, the special Syria envoy from the United Nations and the Arab League, would abandon his efforts. |