Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, Monday, September 3, 2012. Al-Zoebi vowed that Syria will give the new U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, "maximum assistance the way we did with Kofi Annan." The Assad regime made similar public statements when it signed on to Annan's peace plan, only to frequently ignore or outright violate its commitments, by failing to pull its troops out of cities or stop shelling opposition areas. (AP Photo Bassem Tellawi)
