UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Monday voiced his disappointment with the latest speech by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Ban is "disappointed" that the recent remarks of Assad "does not contribute to a solution that could end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman. "What the Syrian people desperately need at this time are real solutions to the crisis that is tearing their nation apart."
Assad presented what he described as a new peace plan to end the crisis in Syria in a televised speech to the nation on Jan. 6, a move that has been dismissed by his opponents as a ploy to cling on to power. While offering a three-phase initiative to politically resolve the crisis, which includes a cease-fire, a comprehensive national dialogue on a "national charter, " Assad also demanded that other countries first stop helping opposition fighters.
"The speech rejected the most important element of the Geneva Communique of 30 June 2012, namely a political transition and the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers that would include representatives of all Syrians," the statement said.
The Geneva Communique, agreed by the Action Group on Syria comprising of world powers, envisaged a Syrian-led transition, including the formation of a transitional government in Syria combining representatives of the government and the opposition.
In the statement, Ban also reaffirmed his long-held view that " there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria."
Syria has been plunged into severe civil unrest since March 2011, with about 60,000 people, mostly civilians, having been killed so far, according to a study released last week by the UN Human Rights Office.
TEHRAN, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Monday that the Islamic republic supports Syrian president's Sunday remarks and his proposed peace plan.
During his speech to the nation on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad presented what he described as a new peace plan to end the crisis in Syria, a move that has been dismissed by his opponents as a ploy to cling on to power. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Sunday dismissed the latest initiative by Syrian President Bashar al- Assad for ending the protracted conflict in his country, reiterating the call for his ouster.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also pledged continued support for the framework of the Geneva Action Group on a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria. Full story
DAMASCUS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday put forward his own roadmap for a political solution to the country's 22-month old crisis, which is based on halting the international support to the armed groups currently fighting on ground.
In his first televised speech since June 4, 2012, Assad appeared among hundreds of his loyalists at the Opera House in the capital Damascus. Dressed in a black suit, the embattled leader stood on a brown podium, with a huge poster of the Syrian flag as the background, where there were also small photos of the army's martyrs. Full story
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