Syria is ready for talks with its
armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the
clearest offer yet of negotiations with rebels fighting to overthrow President
Bashar al-Assad.
But Moualem said at the same time Syria
would pursue its fight "against terrorism", alluding to the conflict
with rebels in which the United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed.
"We are ready for dialogue with
everyone who wants it...Even with those who have weapons in their hands.
Because we believe that reforms will not come through bloodshed but only
through dialogue," Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Moualem as
saying.
He was speaking in Moscow at a meeting with
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia is a staunch ally of Assad.
For his part, Lavrov said that
the only “acceptable” solution in Syria is a political settlement, pointing out
that further bloodshed would lead to the collapse of the Syrian state.
In response to Moualem’s call for dialogue,
Brigadier Selim Idris, head of a rebel military command, demanded a complete
ceasefire, the president's departure and the trial of his security and military
chiefs as preconditions for negotiations. "We will not go (into talks)
unless these demands are realized," he told Al Arabiya Television.
Later in the day, Moaz Alkhatib, head of
the opposition Syrian National Coalition, said in Cairo he had not had held any
contacts about talks with Damascus, but had postponed trips to Russia and the
United States "until we see how things develop".
This as Syrian Information
Minister Omran al-Zoebi denied the regime’s usage of Scud missiles in clashes
with opposition fighters. He also denied the participation of Hezbollah members
in Syria’s fights alongside pro-regime troops.
In this context, UN envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi warned that the failure to reach a peaceful solution in Syria
will lead to the country’s collapse, refusing to consider the Syrian crisis as
a fight between the government and terrorists.
On the possibilities of reaching
a peaceful solution, he said: “It is extremely difficult at the time being; the
solution is not available yet necessary. The choice lies between Syria’s
collapse and a peaceful solution.”
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius welcomed on Monday the declaration of the Syrian opposition stipulating
the formation of an interim government to run the controlled
regions.
The minister called on the opposition to
continue its "positive work" despite its decision to suspend its
participation in the international meetings.
For his part, US Secretary of
State John Kerry said in London on Monday that continued violence in Syria
represented further evidence that it was time for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad
to relinquish his post and condemned recent violence against civilians.
Kerry
urged Syria's opposition to attend a planned international meeting in
Rome this week, saying that President Barack Obama was evaluating further steps
required in order to help protect Syrian civilians.
"Today we were discussing various
options and I'm not going to go into what they may or not be at this point in
time," he told reporters on a visit to London where he met British
officials.
"I want our friends in the Syrian
opposition council to know we are not coming to Rome simply to talk. We're
coming to Rome to make the decision about next steps and perhaps even other
options that may or not be discussed further after that."
In this context,
Kerry telephoned Moaz al-Khatib, head of the opposition Syrian national
coalition, on Monday to urge him to attend a planned Syria meeting in Rome this
week, a US official said.
"The Secretary just completed a call
with President al-Khatib ... to encourage him to come to Rome," said the
senior US official travelling with Kerry, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Speaking
alongside Kerry, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague called for support
for Syria's opposition to be increased significantly in order to help bring the
protracted conflict to an end.
On the ground, a powerful explosion
shook the Syrian capital Damascus, residents reported, and state
television said it struck the eastern district of Qaboun
.
Earlier, battles were ongoing in Syria where 46
people, including regime forces and opposition militants, were killed within 24
hours in the town of Khan al-Assal and its surroundings, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
On the other hand, the opposition militants downed a
helicopter over Meng airport in Aleppo, while clashes erupted near Kwers military airport east of Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the local coordination committee stated that the “Syrian
air force intensified its raids over several towns, killing five citizens in
the town of Balyoun in Jabal al-Zawiyeh, Idlib,” adding that the raids also
targeted Hama, Daraa and Reef Damascus.
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REUTERS/LBCI