Clinton on Syria: Sand running out of the hourglass
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a joint press conference with Koichiro Gemba of Japan (not pictured) following their talks at the Foreign Ministry's Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo on July 8, 2012. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
CBS/AP) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that time is running out on Syrian peace hopes and warned that the Syrian state could collapse.
Speaking in Japan, Clinton said Annan's acknowledgement that his peace plan is failing "should be a wake-up call for everyone."
She said last month was the deadliest for the Syrian people in the 16-month revolt, but added that the opposition "is getting more effective in defense of themselves and going on the offensive against the Syrian military."
"The sooner there can be an end to the violence and a beginning of a political transition process, not only will fewer people die, but there is a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be very dangerous not only to Syria but to the region," Clinton said.
She said that for those who continue to support the regime of President Bashar Assad, the future "should be abundantly clear: ... The sand is running out of the hourglass."
Clinton: "Friends of Syria" must unite to stop Russia, China "blockading" progress
Special U.N. envoy Kofi Annan acknowledged in an interview published Saturday that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed.
"The evidence shows that we have not succeeded," he told the French daily Le Monde.
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