Kofi Annan, joint special envoy for Syria of the United Nations and Arab League (AL), said Sunday that he is optimistic about his mission in Syria, although "it's going to be tough."

After a meeting on Sunday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Annan said they focused on an immediate end of the ongoing violence in the country, an access to humanitarian agencies for the needed and the start of political dialogues.

Speaking about his mission in Syria, the former UN chief said that "It's going to be difficult, but we have to have hope... I am optimistic for several reasons... First of all, I have been here for a very short period, (but) almost every Syrian I have met wants peace... They want to move on with their lives."

"Peace and stability in Syria is the responsibility of every Syrian... It's not the responsibility of the government alone," Annan stressed.

Annan called for reforms in Syria to create a foundation for "a peaceful, stable, realistic and prosperous society based on respect for rules, laws and human rights."

Annan, who also talked with a number of opposition figures in Damascus and religious clergymen, said that to move forward both the government and the opposition need to compromise. "You have to start by stopping the killing and the misery and the abuses that is going on today and then give time for a political settlement," he said.

However, Annan, who has already held talks with Assad on Saturday, said his call for an immediate cease-fire and political dialogue has been dismissed as a nonstarter by both sides.

Assad has told Annan that a political solution is doomed to fail "so long as there are armed groups that work to foment anarchy and destabilize the country."

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2012)