Brahimi comments on three-way talks with Lavrov and Clinton

Описание: (6 Dec 2012)
1. United Nations-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, with journalists in conference complex
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria:
"This meeting has taken place at our initiative. I have taken the opportunity of this conference to ask the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia to get together with me to discuss the very, very, very bad situation in Syria. I am discussing this situation with all the countries that I call, that have influence and interests, or both, and definitely this is the case for Russia and the United States. We have discussed, therefore, the situation in Syria."
3. Cutaway of journalists in media centre
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria:
"We haven't taken any sensational decisions. But I think we have agreed that the situation is bad and we have agreed that we must continue to work together to see how we can find creative ways of bringing this problem under control and hopefully starting to solve it."
5. Empty media briefing room with OSCE logo

STORYLINE:
The joint United Nations-Arab League peace envoy for Syria played down hopes of a significant breakthrough in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Syria after he held unexpected three-way talks with the US Secretary of State and Russia's foreign minister on Thursday.
Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters that he used the opportunity of a human-rights conference in Dublin to hold a surprise meeting with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sergey Lavrov to discuss the Arab country's 21-month civil war.
The meeting in the Irish capital is signalling fresh hopes of an international breakthrough to end the Arab country's 21-month civil war, but Brahimi dampened too high expectations.
"We haven't taken any sensational decisions," Brahimi said.
"But I think we have agreed that the situation is bad and we have agreed that we must continue to work together to see how we can find creative ways of bringing this problem under control and hopefully starting to solve it."
Ahead of the three-way meeting, Clinton and Lavrov met separately on Thursday for about 25 minutes.
They agreed to hear Brahimi out on a path forward, a senior US official said.
The former Cold War foes have fought bitterly over how to address Syria's conflict, with Washington harshly criticising Moscow of shielding its Arab ally.
The Russians respond by accusing the US of meddling by demanding the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime and ultimately seeking an armed intervention such as the one last year against the late Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.
But the gathering of the three key international figures suggests possible compromise in the offing.
At the least, it confirms what officials describe as an easing of some of the acrimony that has raged between Moscow and Washington over the future of an ethnically diverse nation whose stability is seen as critical given its geographic position in between powder kegs Iraq, Lebanon and Israel.
The threat of Syria's government using some of its vast stockpiles of chemical weapons is also adding urgency to diplomatic efforts.
Western governments have cited the rising danger of such a scenario this week, and officials say Russia, too, shares great concern on this point.

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