Syria Refuses to Change Position, Says ‘Plot Will Fail’
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said Monday that the government in Damascus will not budge despite its suspension from the Arab League, which he warned was a "dangerous step."
"The decision of the Arab League to suspend Syria... represents a dangerous step," Muallem told a packed news conference in Damascus.
"Today there is a crisis in Syria which pays the price of its strong positions. Syria will not budge and will emerge stronger... and plots against Syria will fail," said the minister.
Muallem said that the Syrian government was not concerned about the likelihood of foreign military intervention in the country, due to the opposition of China and Russia.
"Syria is not Libya. The Libyan scenario will not be repeated; what is happening in Syria is different from what happened in Libya and the Syrian people should not worry," he said.
"I'm sure that Russia wants to play an effective role in the dialogue to be held (between Syria's government and the opposition), and this is a positive thing.”
"I think that the position of Russia and China, which we thank them for... will not change," said Muallem.
His remarks came as the Arab League called a new meeting on Syria for Wednesday after voting to suspend the country's membership, drawing global praise but triggering mob attacks on foreign embassies in Damascus.
Saturday's vote to suspend Syria from the Arab League, by 18 of the bloc's 22 members, triggered attacks by angry pro-regime mobs on the Damascus embassies of France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
And Muallem apologized for the violence.
"I, as foreign minister, apologies for this matter," Muallem told the news conference.
"It is important... that this does not repeat itself. The protection of the embassies is part of our responsibilities. For this reason I apologize for what happened."
Qatar and Saudi Arabia were among the countries that voted to suspend Syria from the Arab League.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has responded with lethal force in a bid to crush unprecedented protests against his rule that erupted in March.
The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed in the crackdown.
But Muallem said that he believed the crisis in Syria is approaching its end.
"I think that the crisis is reaching the beginning of the end," he said, while issuing a call for dialogue with the opposition.
"The program of reform is clear," he added in reference to a series of measures the Assad regime has announced since the protests broke out, including promises of a new constitution for a multi-party political system.
Western governments have repeatedly criticized the Syrian regime for failing to implement the reforms and for following the announcements up with even more bloodshed, prompting many to say Assad's time is up.
Source: Agence France Presse
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