International envoy Kofi Annan in talks with Syria's Assad

The UN special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus (EPA)

International envoy Kofi Annan said he has agreed with Syria president Bashar Assad on an approach to end the violence in the country.

Mr Annan did not disclose details but said he will also discuss it with the country's armed opposition.

He spoke to reporters in the Syrian capital Damascus following a two-hour meeting with Mr Assad in a last-ditch attempt to salvage a peace effort.

Mr Annan is the architect of an international plan to end Syria's 16-month-old crisis which started with largely peaceful protests calling for reforms but has transformed into a bloody insurgency to topple Mr Assad.

The former UN secretary-general acknowledged in a recent interview that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed.

AP