BEIRUT – Days after blocking a U.S.-backed peace plan at the U.N., senior Russian officials pushed for reforms Tuesday during an emergency meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, promoting a settlement to end the uprising without removing him from power.

Thousands of flag-waving government supporters cheered the Russians in the Syrian capital of Damascus, while to the north, Assad’s forces pounded the opposition city of Homs – underscoring the sharp divisions propelling the country toward civil war.

The violence has led to the most severe international isolation in more than four decades of Assad family rule, with country after country calling home their envoys.

France, Italy, Spain and Belgium pulled their ambassadors from Damascus, as did six Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia.

Germany, whose envoy left the country this month, said he would not be replaced. The moves came a day after the U.S. closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador.

Over the weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for “friends of democratic Syria” to unite and rally against Assad’s regime.

On Tuesday, the Obama administration hinted it might provide humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, but did not specify how or to whom.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew into Damascus on Tuesday, accompanied by his foreign security chief, to try to boost a plan that would keep Assad in power, even though many prominent members of the opposition reject that entirely.

“It’s clear that efforts to stop the violence should be accompanied by the beginning of dialogue among the political forces,” Lavrov said. “Today we received confirmation of the readiness of the president of Syria for this work.”

The visit was also a sign that Moscow wanted to get a firsthand assessment of the situation on the ground in Syria – and the raucous welcome the diplomats received appeared aimed at showing that Assad’s grip is firm, at least in Damascus.

The U.N. estimates the government crackdown has killed more than 5,400 people since March, making Syria’s conflict one of the deadliest of the Arab Spring.