Syria: No talks with rebels until they’re crushed

3 September 2012

(AP) BEIRUT – The Syrian regime said Monday there will be no dialogue with the opposition before the army crushes the rebels, the latest sign that President Bashar Assad is determined to solve the crisis on the battlefield even if many more of his people have to pay with their lives.

The statement comes a day after activists reported that August was the bloodiest month since the uprising began in March 2011.

“There will be no dialogue with the opposition prior to the Syrian army’s imposition of security and stability in all parts of the country,” Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi told reporters at a news conference in Damascus.

The opposition has long rejected any talks with the regime until Assad is removed from power.

Muhieddine Lathkani, an opposition figure based in Britain, responded to the minister’s comments by saying “the key to any dialogue will be the departure of Assad and dismantling of the regime’s security agencies that committed all these crimes.”

Lathkani told The Associated Press by telephone that after that happens, there could be a dialogue.

Earlier in the day, the new U.N. envoy to Syria acknowledged that brokering an end to the civil war will be a “very, very difficult” task.

Commenting on the story, Ribal Al-Assad, Director of the ODFS, said:

“I condemn the comments made by the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition stating they will continue the violence and not engage in any dialogue. There is no military solution to this conflict. A diplomatic solution based on the conditions set out in the Kofi Annan Plan is the only way forward.

“If an all out civil war leading in Syria and the region is to be avoided then all parties- the regime, the opposition and their outside backers must act in good faith and support diplomacy to bring about a peaceful end to the crisis. This is the only way to start a political process leading to a peaceful inclusive democratic transition to a national unity government and democracy and freedom.

“I call on all the Syrian opposition to unite onto one platform and work together for a peaceful solution as a continuation of the violence could lead to the fragmentation of Syria and its society, where everyone will lose out.”