Syrian leadership ready to talk to opposition - Iran's FM

Published time: February 06, 2013 21:56
Edited time: February 07, 2013 12:59
Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd R) talks with other attendees before the start of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Cairo February 6, 2013.(Reuters / Asmaa Waguih)

The Assad government could be ready to sit down with leaders of Syria's opposition, Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday on the sidelines of an Islamic summit that saw Egypt host Iranian and Turkish delegates in Cairo.

­"I think that the Syrian government is ready to negotiate with the opposition," Ali Akbar Salehi told Egyptian state news agency MENA.

It follows Syrian opposition leader Moaz Al-Khatib's Monday offer to speak to a deputy of President Bashar Assad about finding a solution to the now nearly two-year-long conflict that's seen more than 60,000 people killed.

Salehi made the statement while in Cairo as part of a three-way Islamic summit between Egypt, Iran and Turkey. Delegates from the countries held a meeting on the sidelines to address the Syrian crisis. 

"There was a three-way summit of Egypt, Turkey and Iran about the crisis and we look forward to it leading to the resolution of this crisis. We are optimistic," Salehi said, adding that Iran's leadership welcomed Al-Khatib's offer.

"In the end, the government and the opposition must sit together to negotiate," he said.

Shiite Iran is Syria's main ally in the region, while other Sunni-majority countries have been calling for Assad to leave power, with many of them supporting the country's insurgency directly or indirectly.

Comments (17)

Captain Obvious (unregistered) 07.02.2013 14:42

AmericanInRomania (unregistered) wrote in #14
This will be interesting... Even if these first talks do not go well, it is a big move forward for the Assad regime to sit down with and recognize the Syrian Coalition as the opposition.

I wonder what SANA will do? They have been calling them foreign terrorists for so long and now 'Dear Leader' is sitting down to talk with the Syrian Coalition of Syrians that have taken up arms against the regime.   Must be a real mind bender for Syrian propaganda writers.
**** ******************** are you suggesting that baath would acknowledge the existence of a previous lie after facts are in evidence?
remeber how they said university bombing was work of "terrorists"?  then video came out that clearly showed it as a rocket, with a jet in the sky, and vapor trails.  Did you ever hear them recant terrorist lie and admit that they had bombed the university during exams?  No, of course not.  If a lie is proven to be a lie then it never existed.
or how about the case of "armed gangs" in jisr al shugar?  The armed forces released casualty figures.  At the time 1500 syrian soldiers had been killed.  700 were shot for "failing to execute orders".  It was quickly noted that armed soldier trying to desert would shoot back and therefore the official army statistics proved baath regime was lying.  So what happened?  the army report was pulled and ceased to exist.  The regime has not released casualty figures since.
So ... now you expect them to admit they were lying about "foreign mercenaries"?
sil ly boy.

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RT's Child Rape For Freedom Staffer Back From The Superbowl Holiday (unregistered) 07.02.2013 11:30

AmericanInRomania (unregistered) wrote in #14


Talking more sh-t than usual captain c-nt stain.
Enjoy it while you can.
You and the pedophiles in the gulf.

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Syrian leadership ready to talk to puppets of Anglo-Irish empire - Iran's FM (unregistered) 07.02.2013 11:09

Looks like progress. The only thing the Anglo-Irish want is a foothold or stepping stone closer to their targets Iran and Russia.

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