(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "The Syrian response to such calls was reserved. We would like the brothers in Qatar and Saudi Arabia or whomsoever to contribute to getting the opposition figures to act rationally and come to the dialogue table, and not to arming the opposition and shedding the Syrian blood, for which they are fully responsible as they are consciously shedding it," Maqdisi told a press conference at the Ministry's headquarters.
Asked about the mission of Kofi Annan who was appointed as a UN envoy to Syria, the Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said that his country is waiting for a clarification from the UN on the nature of this mission to be duly studied and on what is intended by this appointment.
In his answer to a question on whether Syria is going to witness stability after the approval of the constitution in light of the continued imposition of sanctions against it after each reform step is taken, Maqdisi said "We won't be surprised if those who hinder the reforms and don't want to deal with Syria and seek to hit its stability reject reform and impose sanctions."
He pointed out that these sanctions target the livelihood of the Syrian people before they target any political leadership, stressing that the state is undertaking its tasks in consolidating the necessary legislative basis and the necessary ceiling of freedoms and the pluralism as guaranteed by the constitution.
Maqdisi said the matter is no longer in the hand of the government alone as there is political movement that should be mobilized through the constitutional channels in order to develop and renew Syria.
On reports talking about existence of foreign intelligence members in Homs, Maqdisi said there are intelligence members, individuals and groups who want to destabilize Syria, calling on the journalists to believe only what would be issued by the Syrian mass media, statements of Interior, Defense and Foreign Ministries.
As for contacts about the presence of foreign journalists in Homs and transporting one of them to Lebanon, Maqdisi added that "the journalists whom they are talking about have entered Syria as infiltrators and some of them have left as infiltrators… the confirmed news is that the British Journalist has left, they say that he is in Beirut."
"We have offered condolences on the death of the journalists and wished others to make use of the official work licenses in Syria in order to provide them with needed protection," Maqdisi said.
He added that the visa entry which French Journalist Marie Colvin has asked wasn't rejected, but they have hurried and entered an unsafe area, so they bear responsibility for what has happened to them.
Maqdisi underlined that the Information Ministry has accepted requests of more than 170 media institutions to work in Syria.
"Syria has made three attempts to evacuate the bodies and journalists whom they said that some of them left Syria as infiltrators… but all bids assumed by the Syrian Red Crescent in cooperation with the International Red Cross failed because the armed men rejected to hand over the bodies or release the journalists under different pretexts," Maqdisi said.
He added that in this regard, the law is very clear which is deporting anyone who breaches the laws in the country.
He clarified that the journalists sneaking out of Syria intensifies doubts about the nature of their mission and proves their lack of credibility.
On the deliberations at the UN Security Council on sending humanitarian aid to Syria, Dr. Maqdisi said that the Syrian government is carrying out its duties in this regard and welcomes humanitarian efforts as long as they are approved by the Syrian government, adding that politicizing the crisis in Syria is unacceptable.
Answering a question on Hamas leadership leaving Syria, Maqdisi said that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which is in Syria, is not a card in Syria's hands, affirming that Syria will maintain its support to the Palestinian cause regardless of the Palestinian resistance movements.
He added that the results of the referendum and the high turnout among voters prove the Syrians' belief in the march of reforms, chief among them is the constitution, which guarantee the interests of the majority of the Syrians.
Maqdisi called upon the US to be a real democracy everywhere, including in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq where the US have been killing people.
Concerning reports on an Egyptian initiative for solving the Syrian crisis coupled with a warning that rebuffing it might lead to a civil war, Maqdisi said that Syria is keen on preserving relations with Egypt which can be strained due to instigation or agendas by certain sides , indicating that Syria's relations with Arab countries are built on a purely national basis.
Referring to Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's statements that Iraq supports the demands of the Syrian people, Maqdisi said that the Syrian government is meeting the legitimate demands but draws a line between peaceful and legitimate demands on the one hand, and the armed movements on the other.
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