German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin want a political solution to the crisis in Syria, the two leaders said on Friday.

They were speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin. It was Putin’s first visit to Germany since he returned to the top job at the Kremlin last month.

“The latest massacre in Houla showed once again how terrible the human and human rights situation is in Syria,” Merkel said at a joint news conference with Putin after talks in Berlin.

“We both made clear that we want a political solution, and that the Annan plan can be a starting point, but we must work with all our energy and force, particularly in the UN Security Council, on implementing this plan and if necessary developing other political actions.”

Source: Euronews

William Hague urged Syrian opposition groups to build a united coalition against the regime, hours after failing to rule out an international military intervention.

The Foreign Secretary warned the country stood “on the brink” of all-out civil war in the wake of the massacre in Houla and the failure to implement international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.

Speaking from Istanbul, where he also met UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, he said he had sought agreement on how the international community could help forces opposed to president Bashar Assad.

“We discussed the desperate need for a political solution in Syria and the importance of implementing the Annan Plan in full to ensure that a political transition happens quickly.

“We discussed what more the UK and international community could do to help Syria’s opposition become a credible and effective alternative…I emphasised the need to build a coherent and unified opposition that brings together different representative groups.”

Source: The Independent

Commenting on the statements, Ribal Al-Assad, the Director of the ODFS, said:

“I welcome the comments from Foreign Secretary William Hague calling on the Syrian opposition to become a coherent and unified opposition that brings together different and representative groups. I also welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calls for a political solution. It is only through having a credible democratic united opposition and a political solution will Syria avoid a disastrous civil war. I call on both sides in the Syrian conflict to halt the violence and move towards dialogue and a peaceful transition as that is the only way forward.”