Syrian opposition leader rejects call for dialogue

The leader of Syria s main opposition group says he rejects calls by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan for dialogue between the government in Damascus and the opposition. Burhan Ghalioun says calling for dialogue while President Bashar Assad is massacring his own people is "disappointing." Ghalioun says a political settlement without military pressure on Assad is unrealistic. The Paris-based Ghalioun, who heads the Syrian National Council, spoke to The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday. Annan, who has been appointed joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, has said his mission was to find a political settlement to the conflict. He is due this weekend in Syria where he will meet with Assad.