World powers meet in latest bid to end bloodshed in Syria - CNN International
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Smoke rises after an explosion Thursday near the Palace of Justice in central Damascus, Syria.
- At least three people are killed Saturday, the Local Coordination Committees says
- Diplomats are having a weekend emergency meeting in Switzerland
- "We're confident that God's victory is near," protesters chant
- U.N. chief says he hopes the Geneva meeting will mark a "turning point"
(CNN) -- World powers meet in Geneva on Saturday in the latest attempt to end bloodshed in Syria as international envoy Kofi Annan expressed optimism that the talks will yield "an appropriate outcome" despite a failed peace plan.
Diplomats are having a weekend emergency meeting in Switzerland as anger against President Bashar al-Assad's regime spreads across Syria.
"We're confident that God's victory is near," marchers chanted Friday in demonstrations near the presidential palace in central Damascus "We will no longer kneel to anyone but God."
They lambasted al-Assad's family with cries of "We are coming after you, may God curse your soul."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he hopes the meeting in Geneva will mark a "turning point" in diplomatic efforts to end the unrest that has killed thousands since it started 15 months ago.
Annan, the U.N. and Arab League special envoy to Syria, invited top diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with envoys from Turkey, the United Nations, the European Union and the Arab League.
The meeting "could be an opportunity to press forward with Syria's political transition, should all partners work together on this goal in good faith and with the interest of a better future for Syria in mind, White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Ahead of the Saturday gathering, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with her Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in St. Petersburg amid their nations' deep divisions over the crisis.
U.S. officials have advocated a political transition in Syria, but Russia opposes foreign intervention in the violence-torn nation. After the meeting Friday, which lasted an hour, they emerged together.
"We are agreeing on most things," Lavrov said. Clinton said nothing.
"There are still areas of difficulty and difference, but, out of respect to Kofi, they agree that we should go to Geneva tomorrow to try to produce a result," a senior State Department official said. "We may get there tomorrow; we may not."
During her meeting with Lavrov, Clinton said the wider region -- including Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and Jordan -- faces dangers from the Syrian conflict, according to the official.
"So it's really incumbent upon the Security Council members and regional states to exercise leadership and do what we can to help end the violence and get to a political transition," the official said.
The death toll has mounted since March last year, when a bloody government crackdown on peaceful protests intensified into an anti-regime uprising.
The uprising against the al-Assad regime shows no sign of abating. The Local Coordination Committees estimates more than 14,000 people have died in Syria during the uprising.
Violence rages on 15 months after the anti-government protests started.
At least three people died Saturday, including two killed when security forces shelled Aleppo with rockets and heavy machinery, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said.
On Friday, several explosions hit Damascus neighborhoods, the opposition group said. And regime forces killed at least 70 people across Syria, more than 10 of them children, according to the group.
CNN cannot independently confirm the reports of casualties or violence because Syria restricts access by international journalists.
CNN's Saad Abedine, Joe Sterling, Alla Eshchenko and Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.
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