UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan urged the Syrian government to lay down weapons and implement the six-point peace plan immediately, his spokesman said Friday.

"The deadline is now," Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for Annan, told reporters in Geneva.

"We are appealing to the stronger party to make a gesture of good faith," said Fawzi, adding that they are certain the opposition will follow suit.

He said Annan has sent his deputy Nassar El-Kidwa to Istanbul, where the deputy will talk to the opposition, appealing them to lay down weapons and start talking.

Annan has already visited Cairo, Ankara, Doha, Beijing and Moscow and intends to visit Teheran and Riyadh to seek support for his peace plan, which includes commitments to end the violence, allow humanitarian assistance and permit protests. However, the date for his visit to Iran has not been fixed yet, according to Fawzi.

Fawzi said that Annan will brief the UN Security Council on the latest developments of his mission by video from Geneva Monday.