Syrian govt., opposition establish joint committee

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (MNA) – Representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups agreed in Tehran on Monday to establish a joint committee to promote national dialogue in Syria. The agreement was made on the last day of the two-day Syrian national dialogue meeting, which was held on the theme of “No to Violence, Yes to Democracy.” About 200 Syrian citizens, including religious leaders, party leaders, political figures, tribal chiefs, and representatives of Syrian opposition groups, as well as representatives from Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and a number of other countries, attended the meeting. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told on Monday, “The main task of the committee is to make preparations for holding the next national dialogue meeting in the city of Damascus, the capital of Syria.” After Monday’s meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the committee is tasked with establishing contact with other representatives of the Syrian people to help promote national dialogue and implement political reforms. Salehi also told on the same day, “We took the initiative to hold negotiations between Syrian groups and are responsible for facilitating the talks, but we will not continue national dialogue between Syrian groups, and this is the groups within Syria who should continue the movement initiated with Iran’s initiative.”