Syria: calls for armistice and chess diplomacy
Mon, 04/30/2012 – 12:23
The President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has paid an official visit to Syria. The head of FIDE had a three-hour conversation with Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. During the conversation both parties discussed the outcome of the XXII World Summit of the Nobel Peace Prize in Chicago. The head of Syria proposed hosting the next summit of Nobel Peace Prize laureates in Damascus, Intefax reports.
According to Ilyumzhinov, during the meeting the Syrian President repeatedly stressed the country’s commitment to the peaceful settlement of the situation in the republic proposed by Kofi Annan.
Despite the armistice adopted by the opposition and government forces on April 12, the civil war is continuing. In the last week alone, no night in Damascus has passed without explosions.
A part of the Syrian opposition is ready to negotiate and create a coalition, the leader of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation (NFPO), Jamil Qadri, announced recently at a press conference.
Jamil Qadri said that the future coalition will include six movements that oppose international interference in the affairs of the country aimed at a military resolution of the crisis. The members of the future coalition are still unknown. However, it would not include the largest existing opposition group in Syria – the National Coordination Committee, headed by Hassan Abdel Azim .
Anti-government protests have been continuing in Syria for more than a year. According to UN information, the total number of victims has exceeded 9,000 people. About 230,000 refugees have left the country.
Source: http://vestnikkavkaza.net
Excellent publicity for chess.