Russian envoy in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Syria on Tuesday to hold talks with embattled President Bashar al-Assad, as opposition activists reported continued attacks by security forces in the hotbed city of Homs.

During his meeting with Assad, Lavrov said the Syrian president understood his duties as a sitting head of state.

"Every leader of every country must be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours," said the Russian foreign minister, according to the state-run RIA news agency.

Lavrov went on to say that "it is in our interests for Arab peoples to live in peace and agreement."

Both China and Russia, permanent members of the UN Security Council, had vetoed a UN resolution condemning the violence in Syria, sparking outrage in the US, EU and among Arab nations. Lavrov has described the international reaction to Moscow and Beijing's weekend veto as "bordering on hysteria." Russia, a long-term ally of the Assad regime, says it still wants to broker a diplomatic solution to the fighting.

Syrian security forces continued to shell Homs on Tuesday, the fifth day of escalating violence in the flashpoint city. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least nine civilians were killed on Tuesday, according to the news agency AFP. The Observatory said 70 civilians had been killed in Homs on Monday, after a bloody weekend that saw at least 260 deaths.

China contemplates envoy

China said it may consider sending its own envoy to the Mideast in the future to help push for a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria.

"We hope that Russia's mediation can be successful," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said. "China has all along paid close attention to the development of the Syria situation."

"We will consider sending somebody in the near future to the region, to West Asia and North Africa, to play a proactive and constructive role in pushing for a political resolution of the Syria issue," Liu added, without giving details.

Ambassadors recalled

France, Italy and Spain recalled their ambassadors to Syria for consultations on Tuesday, one day after the US announced that it was closing its embassy in Damascus and withdrawing 18 US diplomats including Ambassador Robert Ford. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that Ford would remain the ambassador to "Syria and its people," maintaining ties with the Syrian opposition. Britain also recalled its ambassador on Monday.

"Faced with the worsening repression being carried out by the Damascus regime against its own population, French authorities have decided to recall France's ambassador to Syria for consultations," said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

"We have begun discussions with our partners in Brussels to reinforce sanctions once again," he added.

slk/ncy (AFP, AP, dpa)