Former Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab had some predictably harsh words for the Syrian regime on 14 August in his first press conference since defecting to Jordan on 6 August. Apart from describing the government in Damascus as an "enemy of God," he assured the press that "from my experience and former position…the regime is collapsing spiritually and financially as it escalates militarily. It no longer controls more than 30% of Syrian territory." He also claimed that "Syria is full of honorable officials and military leaders who are waiting for the chance to join the revolution" and called on the army "to follow the example of Egypt's and Tunisia's armies and take the side of the people."

As the 19 August deadline for the expiry of the mandate of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) – the body that was supposed to monitor the implementation of the six-point Annan peace plan – approaches, Russia and the US have been wrangling over the UN's future role in the Syrian crisis. The Americans do not believe that UNSMIS's unarmed observers should remain in the country, but are willing to consider some other form of UN presence, while for the Russians, according to deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov on 16 August, "the exit of the UN from Syria in the current situation would have serious negative consequences not only for the country, but for the whole region." At the moment, with the Security Council deadlocked, it is hard to see what the UN can do, but, as deputy UN peacekeeping chief Edmond Mulet pointed out on 16 August, that is no reason not to try. "It is clear that both sides have chosen the path of war, open conflict, and the space for political dialogue and cessation of hostilities and mediation is very, very reduced at this point," he said. "The situation on the ground is extremely difficult. But the fact that it's difficult doesn't mean that we should not face that challenge of trying to open these political spaces in the future."