Last chance for Syria

Hillary Clinton has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of extra measures if peace plan fails. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of tougher measures if he squanders his "last chance" by failing to implement the Kofi Annan peace plan. "It is obviously quite concerning" that, while UN observers are starting to deploy in Syria, the "guns of the Assad regime are once again firing in Homs, Idlib and elsewhere", Clinton told reporters in Brussels. "We are at a crucial turning point," the chief US diplomat said on the eve of a high-level meeting in Paris designed to consider further pressure on Assad. Either the international community succeeds in "pushing forward" Annan s six-point plan or "we see Assad squandering his last chance before additional measures have to be considered", Clinton said. Speaking after talks with NATO foreign and defence ministers in Brussels, Clinton simply said the United States "is not providing lethal arms" to the opposition and is instead sending communications equipment and other non-lethal aid to them.