Beijing on Tuesday joined Moscow in throwing its support behind Kofi Annan as the international peace envoy held talks with Chinese leaders on his proposals for ending the bloodshed in Syria.

China called on both sides in the conflict to cooperate with Annan, the United Nations-Arab League envoy, as fractured opposition factions met in Turkey to try to form a united front against the Damascus regime.

"We hope that all parties in Syria can cooperate with Mr Annan's mediation efforts, in order to create conditions for the political settlement of the Syrian issue," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists.

The bloodshed in Syria has been unrelenting since protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad erupted a year ago, during the Arab Spring. Monitors say more than 9,100 people have been killed as the regime cracks down.

China and Russia have provoked Western fury by twice blocking UN Security Council resolutions that condemned the Assad regime.

But Beijing has repeatedly called for an end to the violence in Syria, and earlier this month backed a UN statement urging Assad to work toward ceasing hostilities.

On Tuesday, Annan held talks with China's Premier Wen Jiabao after securing the support of Moscow for his plan, which calls for a UN-supervised halt to fighting in Syria and a transition to a more representative political system.

"I cannot do this job alone, I need help, I need support and I need support and advice from countries like yours and that's why I am here," the former UN secretary general told Wen.

"And I know you've already been helpful but this is going to be a long, difficult task and I am sure that together we can make a difference."

The Chinese premier said efforts to find a solution to the crisis were now "at a critical juncture".

China, nervous about Arab Spring-style protests of its own, opposes any international intervention in Syria. But it is pushing for its own six-point plan calling for an immediate end to the conflict, and for dialogue between the regime and opposition.

In Istanbul, Syrian opposition factions including the main Syrian National Council (SNC) were meeting for a second day to agree on common objectives for their nation's future ahead of a weekend "Friends of Syria" conference.

Syria's fragmented opposition has struggled to remain united in the face of the regime's deadly crackdown and the Istanbul talks are aimed at shoring up ranks and securing international recognition.

On the ground, Syrian forces pressed their assault across the country with at least eight people, including three women, killed overnight in clashes with rebel troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Annan has stressed there can be no deadline to ending the year-long crisis.

"I think only Syrians should decide the issue of Assad's resignation," Annan told Russian news agencies after Sunday's talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"It's important to sit all Syrians behind a negotiating table," he said, according to a Russian translation of his remarks, adding it was "incorrect to give any deadlines" for ending the violence in Syria.

Medvedev had warned on Sunday that Annan represented the "last chance" for avoiding a civil war in Syria, promising him Russia's full support.

Annan's peace plan calls for a halt to fighting, with the government pulling troops and heavy weapons out of protest cities; a daily two-hour humanitarian pause to hostilities; and access to all areas affected by the fighting.

It also calls for the release of people detained in the uprising. However it imposes no deadline on Assad, nor does it call for his departure.

Medvedev, whose government has come under increasing pressure to act on Syria, discussed the crisis with US President Barack Obama in Seoul on Monday.

Afterwards, Obama acknowledged there had been disagreements in recent months between the United States and Russia, an ally of Assad's regime.

But he said both agreed "we should be supportive of Kofi Annan's efforts to end some of the bloodshed that is taking place in Syria", and that the goal was to have a "legitimate" government in Damascus.

Obama also met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Seoul, and both agreed on the need to send "non-lethal" aid to the Syrian rebels, including communications equipment, a US official said.

In recent weeks the violence has crept closer to the capital, with activists and monitors now giving almost daily reports of clashes in and around Damascus.

burs-cc/mbx/jit