Al-Zou’bi Condemns Hermel Terrorist Blast, Stresses no Place to Concessions in our National Issues

DAMASCUS- Information Minister Omran al-Zou’bi has condemned the terrorist bombing which targeted the city of Hermel, northern Lebanon.

“It is like the other terrorist attacks which target Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. The only beneficiary from these criminal acts is the Zionist entity,” said al-Zou’bi in an interview with “al-Mayadeen” channel on Saturday.

“We, as a Syrian state, people and government, condemn such terrorist acts and are sure that the Lebanese people will be able to confront and foil the evil schemes which target Lebanon’s unity,” the minister added.

On the recently-concluded first round of talks between the Syrian official delegation and the so-called “opposition coalition” at Geneva 2 conference, al-Zou’bi said that the Syrian delegation had proposed documents and ideas aiming to found a common base for solution  as 90% of the proposed ideas belong to Geneva1 communiqué.

“Since the very beginning of the talks between the two parties, the Syrian official delegation discovered that the so-called opposition coalition delegation hadn’t read Geneva 1 communiqué,” he added, pointing out that they jumped to the ninth item of the communiqué, which provided for a “transitional ruling body” according to the American interpretation, and ignored the first items which called for ending violence in Syria.

The minister pointed out that the Syrian delegation asked the UN Syria Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to ensure a wide representation for the Syrian national opposition in the coming round of talks, because the so-called opposition coalition doesn’t represent even a small part of the opposition inside Syria and abroad.

“We were aware that we are going to Geneva to talk to some people who, along with their masters, are involved in the war on Syria and in the shedding of the Syrian blood, but, for us, the national interests of the Syrian state were above all considerations,” the minister clarified.

He reiterated that conceding Syrian national issues, constitution or institutions has no place in the agenda of the Syrian delegation, clarifying that “debate should be on the possibility of “opposition” forces’ participation in a national government agreed on within a political process under the Syrian constitution in force.”

On the future of the talks in case the second round of Geneva 2 is a failure or the “opposition” delegation doesn’t expand to involve national opposition parties, al- Zou’bi said “the Syrian state hasn’t excluded any party from dialogue. The state is also ready to talk to all opposition parties who didn’t participate in Geneva2 conference and to openly discuss with them all topics with a high national spirit with the purpose of putting an end to blood shedding and destruction and to restore security to the Syrians.

H. Mustafa