Report: Assad May Be Granted Clemency by Britain, U.S.

Syrian President Bashar Assad may be granted safe passage or even clemency by the United States and Britain if he agrees to join peace talks in Syria likely to be held in Geneva, reported the Guardian on Thursday.

It said that Britain and the U.S. are willing to make this offer as part of diplomatic pressure aimed at holding the conference in Geneva.

The conference, sponsored by the United Nations, will discuss the political transition phase in Syria.

The initiative was made after talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The two officials were encouraged to pursue their proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin during separate talks each official held during their participation at the G20 Summit in Mexico, said the Guardian.

It reported that as a result of the separate meetings between Putin, Cameron, and Obama, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may now seek to persuade U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan to introduce modifications to his six-point ceasefire plan on Syria.

It said that Clinton may push Annan to form an alternate plan, which calls for holding an international conference on Syria in Geneva.

This conference will help address the transition of power in Syria, similar to what happened in Yemen where former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was made to step down after a political agreement, continued the Guardian.