Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed the necessity for resolving the Syrian crisis through non-military means, underlining that solution to the Syrian problem should be presented and accepted by the country's people and government.
Speaking in a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran on Wednesday, the Iranian president said, "Unfortunately, interferences in Syria are too many and we witness that certain states formally render support for the opposition to spread clashes."
He further blamed the trans-regional actors for aggravating conditions in a number of regional countries, and reminded the dire consequences of the western powers' intervention in a number of regional states, including Afghanistan.
The president further stated that Iran and India share identical stances on the Syrian issues, and said, "We all believe that the solution to the Syrian crisis should be non-military and rise from the will of the Syrian nation and government."
He said the ground should be paved for the Syrian government and the opposition to sit to the negotiating table and work out an "agreement over a mutually acceptable national political plan to end the present crisis".
"Our main concern is over the future of Syria, because this country is comprised of various peoples and all historical rifts and disagreements have now been provoked in this country and we are concerned that Syria might be stuck with domestic conflicts for a long period of time and, as is witnessed in a number of nations, these conflicts spread to Syria's neighbors," the Iranian president continued.
He further voiced Iran's readiness to start joint efforts to restore peace and tranquility in Syria, and mentioned, "I believe that the Non-Aligned Movement's capacity and umbrella provides a good opportunity for cooperation among the member states on Syria and for efforts to restore clam in that country."
The Indian premier, for his part, said his country believes that military action cannot resolve the crisis in Syria, "and this problem should be resolved relying on political processes and with attention to the demands of the people and government of Syria."
"The solution to the Syrian crisis should come from within the country and rise from the interests and demands of that country's nation," reiterated Manmohan Singh, who arrived in Tehran earlier today to attend the 16th NAM summit and also meet Iranian officials over the expansion of bilateral ties and cooperation.
Meantime, a senior Iranian legislator said after a meeting with the Syrian president in Damascus that Syrian President Bashar Assad has underlined his acceptance and support for any kind of plan presented by Iran for the settlement of the crisis in Syria,.
"Bashar Assad said that any step taken by Iran to settle the problems in Syria is trustworthy and acceptable," said the Chairman of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi on Wednesday.
He also said Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi's plan to solve the problems in Syria "is positive, but needs to be modified".
Iran will hold talks with the influential members of the Non-Aligned Movement, including Egypt, about Syria on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran, the senior legislator added.
Many regional states have underscored their support for Iran's plan for the settlement of the crisis in Syria, which calls for resolving the problems in the Arab country through talks between the Syrian government and the opposition and away from foreign interference.
"We welcome the plan but we should know that we don't have so much time," Tunisian Presidential Spokesman Adnan Mansar said on the sidelines of the NAM ministerial meeting in Tehran on Tuesday.
He underlined that Tunisia welcomes the plan raised by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca on August 14-15 to settle the crisis in Syria.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.
Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.
The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.
In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.
/129
