DAMASCUS, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- A leading Syrian opponent said the solution to the 18-months-old crisis in Syria does not rest in efforts of the UN and Arab League envoy but the achievement of a workable consensus among regional and international powers.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Hasan Abdul-Azim, head of the National Coordination Body, said the mission of the new joint special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi could succeed if the international community abided by the decisions agreed upon during the Geneva meeting on the issue held in June.
The Geneva meeting text called for establishing a transitional government of national unity, with full executive powers, that could include members of the current government and the opposition and other groups. It would also oversee the drafting of a new constitution and elections.
Abdul-Azim's remarks were made after veteran troubleshooter Brahimi officially came in charge Saturday, who picked up where his predecessor Kofi Annan had left off in mediating a solution for the crisis, which has so far rendered all international efforts useless due to its intractable nature.
"If the circumstances for an international, regional or an Arabian consensus were ripe, it would have pushed the government to halt the violence, release the detainees and deal with the armed opposition and push it to stop its violence in order to create a possibility for political solutions," Abdul-Azim said.
Commenting on the efforts of Iran in solving the Syrian crisis, Abdul-Azim said the Iranian initiative discussed at the Non- Aligned Movement (NAM) meetings in Tehran "can't succeed without coordination among Egypt, the Arab League, and the EU."
Iran said it has an initiative and that it has discussed this initiative with some participant countries during the NAM summit, but the full details of the Iranian initiative have not been made public yet.
Abdul-Azim, meanwhile, regarded the initiative put forward by Egypt's President Mohammad Morsi as an "important" one, adding that it should be integrated with the Iranian one so that there would be a regional plan backed by the 120 members of the NAM.
Morsi has recently proposed that Iran take part in a contact group comprising Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia that would mediate in the Syrian crisis.
However, the prospect of Morsi's proposal were dim, particularly after his NAM statement blasted the Syrian leadership as "oppressive" and urged the participant nations to side with the opposition.
Asked to comment about the broad-based Syrian opposition's demand to form a government in exile, Abdul-Azim said the idea is still "premature," adding that such a move would widen the cracks and deepen the differences among Syria's fractured opposition. He said his group hopes for the "formation of a united leadership for the opposition or the formation of a 'national task committee' that would represent the opposition forces in and outside (Syria). "
He said the committee's task would be unite the media, political, and diplomatic efforts of the opposition and that it would also have a role in the transitional period.
Around 20 opposition parties and bodies inside Syria said last week that they have agreed to convene a conference to "salvage Syria" on Sept. 12 in Damascus.
Abdul-Azim said the conference aims to unite the opposition's efforts in various fronts.
On the possibility of a foreign military intervention in Syria, the 80-year-old opponent said that "since the start of the crisis and till today, there has been no possibility for a military intervention in Syria."
He said the stance of the superpowers, such as the United States and other Western countries, is clear in this regard, "in addition to Russia's and China's veto power that would scrap any military intervention attempt."
While the possibility of a military intervention is slim, calls for establishing buffer zones for refugees within Syria have been reiterated by Turkey and some European countries.
Turkey has lately urged the UN Security Council to establish camps for civilians on the Syrian territory, complaining that it is no longer able to accommodate the huge number of displaced Syrians on its soil. However, UN officials opposed the suggestion.
France and Britain also warned that there are diplomatic and legal impediments that hinder the establishment of buffer zones which require a military protection, while saying that their countries are open to all options on Syria.
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