Russia has not commented yet on President Assad “initiative” which he suggested in his defiant speech on Sunday. The entire country is in holidays for the eastern Christmas, celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church on January 6.
China responded coldly and briefly to the Assad speech, urging the Syrian government and opposition to work to stop the violence as soon as possible.
"Political solution is the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis. The Chinese government is urging the Syrian government and opposition to keep in mind the core national interest and the long term interest of the Syrian people and stop the violence as soon as possible," the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei told reporters.
Hong also says China both sides of the conflict to work on a political resolution, and in accordance with the principles under the Geneva Declaration.
However, the Iranian foreign minister has expressed Tehran’s support for the plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resolve the crisis in Syria.
“In line with its fundamental stance with regards to resolving the Syrian crisis in a political manner, Iran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s initiative in proposing a comprehensive plan to defuse the crisis in this country,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday.
Salehi also hailed the Syrian president’s emphasis on Damascus’ continued support for Palestine and resistance against Israel.
In a key speech on Sunday, Assad said his government is always ready to hold talks with the opposition and political parties and will call for a “comprehensive national dialog” after foreign parties end their support for the militants and the terrorist activities end in the country.
Salehi said implementing the plan could pave the way for building a stable and bright future for the Syrian people and the region.
He also called on all Syrian parties and opposition groups as well as regional and international parties to use this opportunity and make efforts to resolve the current crisis and provide grounds for the realization of a Syrian-Syrian resolution in order to prevent instability and crisis from spreading in the region.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of security personnel, have been killed in the violence.
The Syrian government says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants fighting the Syrian government are foreign nationals.
......
