Syria: Bashar al-Assad raises questions over commitment to peace deal Mr Annan's initiative calls for an "inclusive" political process and Western diplomats say that any refusal to talk to the Syrian National Council would be regarded as unacceptable. The Syrian president's first public comments on the Annan initiative came as fresh divisions emerged within the Arab League as the body's leaders met in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone for their annual summit. Despite muttered objections from Gulf States, the league agreed to drop its previous calls for Mr Assad's resignation in order to give the Annan plan a chance to work. Determined to demonstrate its progress towards normality, a message overshadowed by a series of bombings this year, Iraq feted its guests with extravagant puddings - the desert menu included "dates covered with 24-carat gold" - and lavish service. Some 600 chefs, 820 waiters and 140 butlers were on hand to attend to every whim. Militant groups, deterred by a massive security presence in the city, were also relatively obliging, firing just three rockets over the course of the day, with only one detonating within earshot of the delegates. Despite the presentational triumph of the day, the Arab world's Sunni-Shia divide was painfully on show. With the exception of Kuwait, Gulf states pointedly sent only junior delegations to protest the treatment of Iraq's Sunni Arab minority at the hands of the Shia-dominated government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister. Mr Maliki, in turn, was scornful of earlier calls made by Qatar to provide Syria's rebels with foreign arms. "Based on our experience in Iraq, the option to arm either side of the conflict will lead to a regional and proxy war in Syria," he said. As the talks continued, the news from Syria itself remained grim. At least 19 people were killed in the provinces of Homs, Hama and Idlib, according to opposition groups. The rebels, meanwhile, shot dead two army colonels in Aleppo and kidnapped a brigadier in the southern city of Deraa, the state news agency reported. With the humanitarian situation steadily deteriorating, the UN said that one million Syrians were in need of emergency aid.