Assad: Managed crisis 'wisely'
Photo: Reuters
Syrian defense minister: Conspiracies thwarted
General Dawood Rajha boasts of Syrian regime's accomplishments; says Damascus has managed the crisis wisely and patiently
Syrian Minister of Defense General Dawood Rajha said Thursday that the mission of the UN special envoy to Syria,
Kofi Annan, should be accompanied by a halt of criminal acts perpetrated by armed terrorist groups, according to state-run SANA news agency.
Speaking at a military graduation ceremony, Minister of Defense General Dawood Rajha said Syria has showed readiness to make international efforts a success, stressing that any political dialogue or any political process will not succeed with the presence of terrorists who spread anarchy in the country to undermine its security.
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The defense minister also claimed that most of the conspiracies against Syria have been thwarted, adding that Syria has managed the crisis wisely and patiently through issuing a package of reforms which will guarantee the country's passage to a better situation.
Opposition rebellion continues (Photo: AP)
Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League joint special envoy to Syria, on Thursday said that "a cessation of violence is an important beginning" in bringing peace to Syria, calling on both the Syrian government and opposition to observe the timeline to end the fighting.
While briefing the UN General Assembly, Annan said "we must commence a comprehensive political dialogue between the Syrian government and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition," adding that "this must enable a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, plural political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their affiliations or ethnicities or beliefs."
Annan welcomed a presidential statement adopted earlier on Thursday by the UN Security Council to support his April 10 deadline for ceasefire on the part of the Syrian government to bring an early end to the year-long crisis in the country.
The Syrian government is facing growing international pressure to end its alleged crackdown on opposition strongholds as the UN said more than 9,000 people have been killed during the yearlong crisis.
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