Talks in Syria

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby announced that it had reached an agreement about long-promised political reform with President Bashar al-Assad.

During talks with the Syrian president, Elaraby discussed a 13-point document containing Arab proposals on a way reach a deal intended to put an end to the bloodshed.

In the talks, Elaraby agreed with the Syrian regime that it had the right to reject "any form of foreign interference in Syrian domestic affairs," the official news agency SANA reported.

"I heard from him an understanding of the situation, and he showed me a series of measures taken by the Syrian government that focused on national dialogue," Elaraby said of the meeting with Assad in a statement after the meeting.

However, after leaving the country, Elaraby said there had been "agreement on steps to carry out the reforms, [and] the elements will be submitted to the council of the Arab League."

League members to meet in Cairo

At least 12 people were reported to have been killed on Saturday by Syrian security forces, including eight in the central Homs region, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The United Nations said more than 2,200 people, mostly civilians, have died in violent repression against pro-democracy demonstrators since mid-March.

The talks with the Arab League come as the United States tries to target Syria with a UN Security Council draft resolution likely to include sanctions.

"We're looking at accelerating that work next week," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in reference to a draft resolution likely to include sanctions.

The Reuters news agency on Sunday reported French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe as saying that the failure of the UN so far to agree a resolution was "a scandal."

Author: Richard Connor (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Editor: Sean Sinico