TEHRAN- Iran proposed that observers from a contact group on Syria, comprising Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, to be dispatched to the crisis-hit country.
The United Nations put an end on August to its own observer mission to Syria that was established in April 2012, after a ceasefire failed to take hold.
According to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has proposed that observers from a contact group on Syria, comprising Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, be dispatched to the crisis-hit country and has announced that Tehran is ready to host a meeting of the group.
Iranian Foreign Ministry statement added that Foreign Minister Salehi put forward the approach and the road map proposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to find a way out of the Syrian crisis at the quartet meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
Iran`s FM statement said “Within this framework, on Monday… our country’s foreign minister proposed (the following points) for discussion at the Cairo meeting:
1) Announcing a halt to the conflict and the violence by both sides simultaneously;
2) Emphasizing the peaceful settlement of the crisis without foreign intervention;
3) Ending any kind of financial, military, and training support to armed groups;
4) Launching talks between the Syrian government and the opposition;
5) Establishing a national reconciliation committee with the participation of all movements and groups;
6) Dispatching observers from the four countries to supervise the process of ending the violence and holding negotiations;
7) Emphasizing the necessity of maintaining Syria’s cohesion, national unity, and territorial integrity;
8) Contributing to the process of fundamental reforms;
9) Realizing a Syrian-Syrian democratic approach.”
“Salehi also pointed to the fact that the suffering of the Syrian people, (and) particularly the sanctions and economic punishments, necessitate that Muslim countries, including the four known regional powers (scheduled to be) present at the meeting, intensify and pool their efforts to ship economic and humanitarian aid and proposed that a committee be established to end the suffering of the Syrian people for the realization of this goal.” Iranian foreign ministry added.
“Regional countries should ensure the accomplishment of this process through utilization of all resources and the current potential and constant consultation.” Salehi said in Cairo.
Salehi also emphasized, “While emphasizing the necessity of the implementation of fundamental reforms, the Islamic Republic of Iran, throughout the Syrian developments, has proposed feasible and practical solutions to help end the violence by both sides and initiate a dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition… (at) the Tehran Consultative Meeting on Syria, which was held with the participation of 30 countries (on August 9), and also… (at) the Mecca summit (on August 14 and 15) and… the recent meeting of the Non-Aligned (Movement) countries in Tehran (from August 26 to 31).”
Salehi added that most regional countries are concerned about the repercussions of the armed presence of extremist movements on regional security and stability, and said, “We believe that the complete failure of political solutions can pave the way for fitna (sedition) in various forms and its spread to neighboring countries and the entire region.”
“Unfortunately, most Western countries, which are in a quandary (due to their failure to) perceive the realities and the mission of regional nations’ uprisings, have closed their eyes to the realities of the region by prioritizing the interests of the Zionist regime and are preventing the realization and the implementation of true reforms in Syria and the region through providing comprehensive financial and military support to unknown armed groups.” Salehi added.
Salehi pointed to the necessity of the continuation of consultation between the participants of the Cairo meeting and active movements and groups in Syria, and added, “Such consultations can offer new prospects, not only in regard to Syrian developments but also in regard to current and future crises, and, according to this perspective, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to host the next round of the meeting (of the contact group) in Tehran.”
Salehi appealed for "a simultaneous halt in clashes and violence by the sides in Syria, insisted on a peaceful solution without foreign intervention and a halt to financial, military and training support for the Syrian opposition," IRNA reported, without giving a source.
Iran, the main regional patron of Syria, is a member of the newly-established quartet committee, which also groups Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.
The formation of the quartet group was called for by the new Islamist Egyptian leader Mohammad Morsi with the aim of handling the Syrian issue in a peaceful way. The committee held its first meeting Monday at the level of foreign ministers in Egypt's capital, Cairo.