A source close to the Defense Minister in opposition Syrian interim government, Asaad Mustafa, confirmed he has resigned.
"The reasons of his decision is unknown. They are not related to pressures from abroad, but probably some parties intervened to convince him to resign," the source said.
Mustafa resigned from Amhmad Toumeh's government on Thursday. In his letter of resignation, Mustafa said: "When I accepted the position of Defense Minister in Syrian interim government, I found it a chance to serve the rebels on the ground, those who carried the dignity of the revolution on their shoulders, those who kept it alive in their pure blood."
"Afterwards I learned that our efforts are nothing when compared to the glory of rebels' sacrifices and fail to meet their minimum needs," he said.
Mustafa confirmed in a statement reported by al-Arab newspaper that he refused to attend Geneva II because he was convinced that the negotiations with the criminal regime will give nothing to the Syrian people, but are simply an opportunity to waste time.
However, he said, when the opposition delegation went to Geneva, "we had to support it politically and militarily."
Mustafa was against the political solution and expressed his refusal to negotiate with the Assad regime.
In the period since he became defense minister, he built good relations with the armed opposition forces, especially defected officers from Assad's army.
The source said that Mustafa insists on some specific military preparations and plans, but that most were not accepted by some international parties, especially those who want to maintain the process of providing the Free Army with weapons under supervision.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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