30 June 2012
Last updated at 15:12 GMT
Russia, which sees Syria as a close ally, is said to be resisting proposals that could exclude President Assad from a transitional unity government.
Some 15,800 people have died in the 16-month uprising, activists say.
Before the talks started, Russia said there was a "very good chance" of finding common ground, but a US official said areas of "difficulty and difference" remained.
Violence has continued in Syria, despite a nominal ceasefire brokered by Mr Annan as part of his six-point peace plan.
More than 180 people were killed on Friday, activists said, after Syrian forces shelled a suburb of the capital Damascus and the restive central city of Homs.
On Saturday, activists and witnesses said many residents were fleeing the Damascus suburb of Douma, which has come under sustained assault from government forces.
An activist told the AP news agency that loyalists had succeeded in recapturing the rebel stronghold late on Friday. "The situation in Douma is catastrophic," he said.
One Syrian activist group said about 4,700 of the 15,800 killed since the uprising began had died since mid-April, when the ceasefire was supposed to enter into force.
Assad's role
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the conference's decisions should be endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution permitting action to enforce the peace plan, according to the Reuters news agency, but noted that Russia was opposed to this.
He also reiterated that President Assad and his close allies should not be allowed to take part in the interim Syrian administration being discussed at the talks.
Earlier, Mr Hague said reaching an agreement remained "very difficult".
Russia has been hostile to any solution that would see Mr Assad forced out.
Meanwhile, Mr Assad said he would not accept any solution to his country's crisis imposed from outside.
He told Iranian television that it was an "internal issue" which had "nothing to do with foreign countries", stressing that no amount of foreign pressure would make his government change its policy on internal security.
Western powers, Russia, Turkey and Arab countries, including Qatar, are taking part in the Geneva meeting.
Saturday's conference in Geneva was called by Mr Annan after the violence intensified in Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in St Petersburg on Friday in an effort to agree a consensus formula to end the bloodshed.
After leaving the talks with Mrs Clinton, Mr Lavrov said: "We have a very good chance to find common ground at the conference in Geneva tomorrow [Saturday].
But a US state department official later told reporters: "There are still areas of difficulty and difference."
Some 3,000 people were killed across Syria in the past month, reports say
Mr Annan wants support for an interim government that could
include opposition members and officials serving under Mr Assad, but
exclude those "whose continued presence and participation would
undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardise stability and
reconciliation", his spokesman said.
Diplomats said this was an implicit reference to the Syrian president.
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Kofi Annan warns Syria talks in Geneva against failure
Britain's William Hague said reaching an agreement would be "very difficult"
UN
envoy Kofi Annan has warned that a failure to agree at talks in Geneva
today on his peace plan for Syria could spark an international crisis.
Mr Annan told the meeting history would judge harshly if there was no deal on ending the bloodshed in Syria.Russia, which sees Syria as a close ally, is said to be resisting proposals that could exclude President Assad from a transitional unity government.
Some 15,800 people have died in the 16-month uprising, activists say.
Before the talks started, Russia said there was a "very good chance" of finding common ground, but a US official said areas of "difficulty and difference" remained.
Violence has continued in Syria, despite a nominal ceasefire brokered by Mr Annan as part of his six-point peace plan.
More than 180 people were killed on Friday, activists said, after Syrian forces shelled a suburb of the capital Damascus and the restive central city of Homs.
On Saturday, activists and witnesses said many residents were fleeing the Damascus suburb of Douma, which has come under sustained assault from government forces.
An activist told the AP news agency that loyalists had succeeded in recapturing the rebel stronghold late on Friday. "The situation in Douma is catastrophic," he said.
One Syrian activist group said about 4,700 of the 15,800 killed since the uprising began had died since mid-April, when the ceasefire was supposed to enter into force.
Assad's role
Continue reading the main story
The latest diplomatic efforts on Syria cannot succeed without
Russia's backing. It's a sign of just how key Moscow is that ahead of
the talks in Geneva, there were talks in St Petersburg - between the
Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State.
Russia's role is vital because it has influence in Damascus which the other players don't - it supplies Syria with weapons, and political support - while Russia's veto at the UN Security Council has already been used as a counterweight to western pressure. Speaking afterwards, Sergei Lavrov said he believed there was a good chance that all sides round the table in Geneva would find common ground.
But recent rhetoric between Russia and America suggests that East and West still don't agree on the key question - the fate of President Assad. Moscow sounds unwilling to pressure him into leaving power. If that remains Russia's position, then reaching a consensus on a transitional government will be hard.
Analysis
Russia's role is vital because it has influence in Damascus which the other players don't - it supplies Syria with weapons, and political support - while Russia's veto at the UN Security Council has already been used as a counterweight to western pressure. Speaking afterwards, Sergei Lavrov said he believed there was a good chance that all sides round the table in Geneva would find common ground.
But recent rhetoric between Russia and America suggests that East and West still don't agree on the key question - the fate of President Assad. Moscow sounds unwilling to pressure him into leaving power. If that remains Russia's position, then reaching a consensus on a transitional government will be hard.
Mr Annan warned participants at
the Geneva conference that they would be responsible for any further
loss of life inside Syria, as well the threat posed by a continuing
conflict to the wider region and the world.
"History is a sombre judge and it will judge us all harshly if we prove incapable of taking the right path today," he said.British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the conference's decisions should be endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution permitting action to enforce the peace plan, according to the Reuters news agency, but noted that Russia was opposed to this.
He also reiterated that President Assad and his close allies should not be allowed to take part in the interim Syrian administration being discussed at the talks.
Earlier, Mr Hague said reaching an agreement remained "very difficult".
Russia has been hostile to any solution that would see Mr Assad forced out.
Meanwhile, Mr Assad said he would not accept any solution to his country's crisis imposed from outside.
He told Iranian television that it was an "internal issue" which had "nothing to do with foreign countries", stressing that no amount of foreign pressure would make his government change its policy on internal security.
Western powers, Russia, Turkey and Arab countries, including Qatar, are taking part in the Geneva meeting.
Saturday's conference in Geneva was called by Mr Annan after the violence intensified in Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in St Petersburg on Friday in an effort to agree a consensus formula to end the bloodshed.
After leaving the talks with Mrs Clinton, Mr Lavrov said: "We have a very good chance to find common ground at the conference in Geneva tomorrow [Saturday].
But a US state department official later told reporters: "There are still areas of difficulty and difference."
Some 3,000 people were killed across Syria in the past month, reports say
Diplomats said this was an implicit reference to the Syrian president.
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