Syria has canceled a planned visit by the chief of the Arab League scheduled for Wednesday, citing unspecified "circumstances beyond our control."
The Arab League secretary general Nabil al Arabi intended to deliver a 13-point document to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outlining its plans to bring an end to the crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
"Syria has asked Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al Arabi to delay his visit to Damascus due to circumstances beyond our control," the official SANA news agency said Tuesday, adding that a new date will be set for his visit.
Al Arabi's office confirmed that the "trip has been postponed with no alternative date on the request of the Syrians."
The Arab proposal included "the withdrawal of the army from the Syrian streets, release of all the prisoners detained during the revolt and the beginning of an open dialogue toward real political reforms," Mohamed Al Zeibaq, spokesman for the Coalition of Free Syrians, said from Cairo. The document also proposed that Syria conduct parliamentary elections by the end of the year and presidential elections by the year 2014.
