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Syria needs to create atmosphere of dialogue – opposition member

"We welcomed Russia and China’s veto, which excludes external interference," Jameel said

MOSCOW, October 11 (Itar-Tass) — Syrian opposition leader Qadri Jameel has stressed importance of creating an atmosphere of dialogue and peace in the country.

Jameel met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Syria and the region in general.

“We welcomed Russia and China’s veto, which excludes external interference,” Jameel said in an interview with Itar-Tass.

“As concerns protection of civilians in Libya it turned quite the opposite, therefore we are against the Libyan scenario,” he said.

The head of the Syrian delegation expressed confidence that “the policy of non-interference into Syria’s affairs creates a space for dialogue and conditions for resolving the crisis.”

“We’ve agreed to further discuss with Russia the beginning of the inter-Syrian dialogue, in particular the talks with the authorities,” he said.

In reply to the question whether President Bashar al-Assad should step down, Jameel underlined that “only people should take a decision on this.” “Al-Assad himself cannot resolve this issue, people will have their say, the voice of people is the source of power,” he said.

Speaking about the National Council established in Istanbul Jameel noted that “this is the non-patriotic opposition,” making clear that the Syrian delegation has not had any contacts with it.

He confirmed that at the Tuesday talks the proposal of the head of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, Mikhail Margelov, to organize a meeting of the Syrian authorities and opposition in Moscow was touched upon, but “slightly.”

“There are more serious and pressing issues, in particular, the creation of an atmosphere of dialogue, which means peace and calm,” Jameel said adding that “it would be preferable to organize such a meeting in Syria.”

Along with this he did not rule out that such a meeting can take place in Moscow.