Saudi tells Russia president Syria dialogue futile: report

RIYADH: Saudi's King Abdullah told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that dialogue on Syria was "futile", the official SPA news agency reported on Wednesday.

Russia should have "coordinated with the Arabs... before using the veto" to block a resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council, King Abdullah was quoted as saying.

"But now, dialogue about what is happening (in Syria) is futile," the Saudi monarch told Medvedev in a telephone conversation on the escalating violence that has killed dozens of civilians in recent days.

According to the report, the king told Medvedev that Saudi Arabia "will never abandon its religious and moral obligations towards what's happening."

The Kremlin released a statement earlier on Wednesday saying the two leaders exchanged views about the situation in the Middle East in light of the events in Syria, but gave no further details.

King Abdullah's statements came as Syria's main opposition group urged the international community to create safe havens in the country and said that military intervention might be the "only option" to end a brutal crackdown.

At a news conference in Paris, the Syrian National Council said it would attend a meeting in Tunis on Friday of the countries known as the "Friends of Syria" and ask for safe zones to protect civilians and allow the opposition to organise.

It also called on Russia to force President Bashar al-Assad's regime to allow access for humanitarian convoys.

More than 6,000 people have died in the unrest in Syria, activists say, as Assad's government seeks to snuff out a revolt that began with peaceful protests in March last year but has also seen military deserters take up arms against the regime.