Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s announcement calling on the Syrian opposition to accept the peace plan presented by Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy, Waleed al-Bunni, member of the Syrian National Council told Asharq Al-Awsat that he met with the Russian ambassador at the UN Security Council and discussed Annan’s plan with him. He added that he explained that the opposition would accept the plan only if Al-Assad’s regime complies with its points within two days even though it does not include the opposition’s main demand that Al-Assad should step down.

Al-Bunni told Asharq Al-Awsat, “I stressed to him (the Russian ambassador) that if the points in Annan’s plan – in particular stopping the killings and arrests, releasing the detainees, allowing the Syrian people, who do not accept after today to be ruled by a butcher after having paid this price, to stage peaceful demonstrations, and withdrawing the Syrian army from the cities – then we will announce our acceptance of it. But if it is an extra time for Bashar al-Assad to commit more massacres and destroy more cities and we lose 10,000 citizens, then it proves like all previous initiatives that the international community is not serious about solving the Syrian crisis and this community must then confront Al-Assad with his lies.”

Regarding the opposition’s principal demand that Al-Assad should step down which the Annan plan did not mention, Al-Bunni said the Syrian people would express their opinion in front of Al-Assad’s palace and bring him down peacefully if the regime accepted this initiative.” He added: “This prompts us to welcome this initiative even though it does not include a clause about Al-Assad stepping down. Russia, the international community, and Al-Assad personally must admit the fact that the Syrian regime is finished and its leader must choose between falling down peacefully or after destroying the country.”