International envoy Kofi Annan (left) meets July 9, 2012, with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria. (Associated Press/SANA)
** FILE ** In a March 30, 2011, file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, addresses the Parliament, in Damascus, Syria. A Turkish newspaper says Assad, speaking in an exclusive interview, has expressed regret over the shooting down of a Turkish jet by his forces. (AP Photo/SANA, file)
** FILE ** In a March 30, 2011, file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, addresses the Parliament, in Damascus, Syria. A Turkish newspaper says Assad, speaking in an exclusive interview, has expressed regret over the shooting down of a Turkish jet by his forces. (AP Photo/SANA, file)
** FILE ** Syrian security forces officers hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad from the windows of their building, which was destroyed after a car bomb exploded near the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, in a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Thursday June 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
** FILE ** Syrian security forces officers hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad from the windows of their building, which was destroyed after a car bomb exploded near the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, in a suburb of Damascus, Syria, Thursday June 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, listens to a question during his and Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalam, unseen, news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 28, 2012. Russia is denying comments by a U.S. official that it has endorsed a Syrian transition plan that includes a call for President Bashar Assad to give up power in favor of a national unity government saying that outside forces must concentrate on convincing opposition groups to soften their demands. But, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Thursday. "We are not supporting and will not support any external meddling,” he said. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, listens to a question during his and Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalam, unseen, news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, June 28, 2012. Russia is denying comments by a U.S. official that it has endorsed a Syrian transition plan that includes a call for President Bashar Assad to give up power in favor of a national unity government saying that outside forces must concentrate on convincing opposition groups to soften their demands. But, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Thursday. "We are not supporting and will not support any external meddling,” he said. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, purports to show anti-Syrian regime mourners raising their hands and chanting slogans, as they carry the coffins of Syrian citizens who were killed by the Syrian forces shelling, in Daraa, southern Syria, Tuesday June 26, 2012. Syria's elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces guarding the capital since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began last year, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, purports to show anti-Syrian regime mourners raising their hands and chanting slogans, as they carry the coffins of Syrian citizens who were killed by the Syrian forces shelling, in Daraa, southern Syria, Tuesday June 26, 2012. Syria's elite Republican Guard forces clashed with rebels just outside Damascus Tuesday in some of the most intense fighting involving the special forces guarding the capital since an uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began last year, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)
