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Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
Qadri Jamil, Syria's deputy prime minister for economic affairs, listens during a news conference in Moscow, Aug. 21, 2012.
Syria is ready to discuss the resignation of President Bashar Assad through negotiations with the opposition, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said Tuesday in Moscow, according to AFP.
"The resignation (of Assad) as a condition to be fulfilled before the start of a dialogue means it will be impossible to start the dialogue. Any issue can be discussed during the dialogue," Jamil said, according to Reuters.
"We are ready to discuss even that issue (the resignation of Assad). But resignation before finding the mechanisms acceptable for Syrian people - is that a real democracy?" Jamil added.
The deputy prime minister was in Russia to meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials.
On Monday, President Barack Obama said he would have to rethink his current opposition to U.S. military engagement in Syria if the regime there were to use or move its chemical and biological weapons.
Obama draws 'red line' for Syria on chemical and biological weapons
"We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized," the president said. "That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."
At the news conference in Moscow, Jamil appeared to dismiss Obama's comments.
"Everything points at the fact that other countries have these (chemical) weapons. And this makes us remember the Iraqi mass destruction weapons story. After Iraq was captured, it was discovered that there are no weapons of mass destruction there. The West is looking for an excuse for direct intervention. If this excuse does not work, it will look for another excuse," he said, according to Reuters.
"Regarding Obama's threats, they are media threats to be used in the media campaign in readiness for the coming elections. There are different games played at the moment in the United States which are connected with the upcoming elections," Jamil said, according to Reuters.
The deputy prime minister added that a military intervention in Syria was "impossible" because it would lead to a confrontation beyond the country's borders.
"Direct military intervention in Syria is impossible because whoever thinks about it apparently is heading towards a confrontation wider than Syria's borders," Jamil added.
Related story
Syria regime 'reeling, armed to the teeth' with chemical weapons
The United Nations says more than 18,000 people have been killed in the 17-month old conflict that is affecting neighboring states.
Russia and China have opposed military intervention in Syria throughout the revolt, and Russia warned the West on Tuesday against unilateral action on Syria.
Speaking after meeting China's top diplomat, Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing were committed to "the need to strictly adhere to the norms of international law ... and not to allow their violation," according to Reuters.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
check mate?
That makes them smarter than Qaddafi and S. Hussein. Time to bail with your Ca$h and bling and get over the power high,
Pakistani authorities arrested a Christian girl in the eleventh for blasphemy and desecration of the Koran pages.
According to Pakistani media that the girl was detained on charges of blasphemy after he called collect angry arrest them and threatened to burn the homes of Christians on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad.
Officials say the girl suffered from learning difficulties and she was unable to answer questions the police.
The police impounded the girl's parents to protect them after they had received threats.
Said Paul Patty Minister coexistence in a Pakistani national told the BBC that it is well known that the girl suffers from a mental disorder and that it was "unlikely to have desecrated the Koran deliberately."
He Patty "from the reports that I've seen, seen the girl carrying bag waste was inside some pages of the Koran. This angered residents of the area and gathered a great collection to take action against it. Police were reluctant at first to her arrest, but under pressure from the angry crowd that threatened burned Christian homes. "
Pakistani Christians complain that they are often accused unjustly of blasphemy.
It condemned the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan charges against the girl. The newspaper quoted "without" the Committee as saying "the fact that the girl suffers from mental problems makes the accusation barbaric."
The minister said Pakistan "fled about 600 people from the Christian Quarter. Working to ensure security in the region so that they can return to their homes."
Patty said that the incident took place on the seventeenth of August / August after Friday prayers.
He urged the activists in the field of human rights Pakistan to reform the blasphemy laws controversial, and under which the accused was jailed for life on charges of desecration of the Koran.
And killed many of the accused of blasphemy by a massive crowd, also targeted politicians who seek to change the laws.
In the past year killed Patty Shabazz and Minister for Minorities after demand for the abolition decision kayaking.
"Check mate?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No ... Just .... Check
The Syrian opposition will never accept discussions prior to Assad resignation.
.
Please don't throw us into a war for a country where most people probably hate us and our "western" ways.
I'm not defending Assad but his addiction to power is quite puny compared to our warmongering politicans in Washington (on both sides of the isle). Time and again we are sticking our noses where they don't belong and stirring up trouble around the world. It's working against our interests, it's putting our armed forces in harm's way, and it's costing us money we don't even have. The time has come for us to put an end to this insanity.
the russians and chinese talk but not with the us all we get are threats not to do anything in syria it seems as if they like to see people killed dont forget the georgia issue with russia they interfered with a couple of provinces nobody wants war but the communist countries sure do have it on for the west i wonder how they would feel if the muslims rose up in both of those countries im sure they would unleash all hell
do you want give it tomuslim brotherhood , all the middle east countries are going to the evil terror muslim brotherhood , it is an evil deal
well a nice villa in IRAN is in order here, get out now before the HAGUE gets to see your smug mug..
Interesting , I guess it is the only way he is getting out without a necktie party coming his way though .
Don't belive him. Remember how many times he say that he agree with the UN peace plan... Remember how many times Iranian "agree" that the IAEA can check their nuclear installations... Remember how many times the president of Yemen agree to resign, before he was bombed in his palace... Those people are used to be "unreliable"... well adviced by Teheran, Moscu and Pekin (oh, sorry, 'Beijing').
as i said what ever behind that in syria is muslim brother hood, geronimous, you are one of them since you defend them, get lost, you evil terror, you aare group of terror call muslim brotherhood
Assad is going to try to use talk of resignation to stall for time. He will put unacceptable terms into a deal to step down knowing the Rebels will never go for it and when they don't go for it, he will try to use it as positive PR that the Opposition only wants killing and war.
As For Russia and China. They are being seen as facilitators of murder. They have no right to talk about International law or international norms. On the other hand, the US intervention in so many different places in the world has not won it any peace prizes either.
In the end, The disingenuous nature of the Russians and Chines will be their undoing. Assad will not stay, and as much as many people in that region hate us Americans, they will loath the Chines and Russian Puppet masters that made it possible for Assad to murder 10s of thousands of his own.
What about the many thousands of Syrians that have been murdered by the FSA ? I notice that you swept it under the rug for your anti-Christian agenda ! Shame on you ! What of the many beheadings? the many Churches being trashed by these FSA thugs you love ? You are a sick person !
Oh, trust me, I know that is happening aswell. There is no sweeping anything under the rug. There is no denying that both sides are at fault for war crimes and both sides should be held accountable for it.
People do insane things to one another in times of war. It is particularly hart wrenching when you have a brother against brother situation in civil war. Assad had a chance to limit this violence by listening to his people and he declined to take the steps required to respect the lives of those he leads.
Its not about an agenda when I say that the Russian's hands are bloody and that they facilitate killing of innocent people. They could have just as easily shown themselves to be the superpower they want to be again by leading a peace keeping force into Syria and refusing to arm either side. Instead, they have proven how utterly weak and spineless they are by blocking every measure set before them to take action.
I tell you. I am not happy about the US involvement in the deaths of innocent people around the world, but I am glad that when we go in, we are the ones doing our own dirty work. Russia and China will stand in shadow afraid of confronting any thing directly.
So what? As long as it doesn't involve ONE DROP of American blood, I could NOT care less HOW the Syrians settle this problem. Or how the Chinese and Russians are responding to this for that matter. We're already wasting enough in treasure on these people already. It's THEIR issue, let THEM deal with it.
The "so what" is that innocent humans are dieing. It matters not the religion or the place. It would be less important how the Russians and China reacted if they where not openly arming the government and being disingenuous with their motives. It shows that dealing with the Devil in the shadows is far more important to them then the innocent human lives they help waste.
On a human level, I do care about those on the ground. Many of them are just like me.. They only want to wake up in the morning and go to work for their families and have a safe life. It dose not matter that they hate me or the country I am from.
The "so what" is also That countries that move in the darkness are capable of anything, even direct harm to the US.
I care that innocent people are dieing. There is a lot of injustice in the world, but we can not go around trying to fix every wrong. Trying to fix things, without participation of the governments in that area is more likely to make things worse rather than better. There are a lot of wrongs in our own back yard, that could use fixing.
Talks that lead to Assad leaving would be good. Odds of him not negotiating honestly are high. If the Arab League is not willing to put boots on the ground in Syria, I don't see why we should.
Why Arab League should put their boots there?
"...is that a real democracy?" So NOW they want to rely on democratic principles, those idiots. Where was democracy when they were bombing and shelling their constituents? Democracy will come AFTER the criminals have been be-headed, thank you.
Why is that so important, compared to the prevention of all-out ethnic war and turmoil? What is important is to keep the lid on things, while letting this SOB disappear somewhere, and, most importantly, let the Syrian people go free to choose their own government without fear of assassination. 'Real' democracy will have its day.
"...is that a real democracy?" So NOW they want to claim democracy, those idiots. Where was democracy when they were bombing and shelling their constituents? Democracy can start after the criminal Assad has been be-headed, thank you.
My vote for the all time most hilarious line ever uttered by a politician "...is that a real democracy?" Somehow "Pot this is kettle you're black!!" Just doesn't quite do it justice.
I hope he does not , you all morans do not have any idea whats going on in Syria , If Assad goes , here goes all the Christians in that region, I hate to tell you , but he is more decent than our politicians , at least you know where he stands and he defends his people unlike our politicians , they defend the people of other countries , I hope these murderers Alqaida thugs do not win , you all go tell our friends the Saudis and Qataris you want freedom and human rights in their countries , and see what happened , they will send these thugs over here like they did on 9/11 . what our media and paid off politicians telling us here nothing but lies and fabrications .
Slow down brother. Yes, that is one outcome, especially if the Israelis and neocons have their way. A more hopeful and more likely outcome would be if Assad can be coaxed out of the way and allow a UN / international team to facilitate a more representative government with participation from many sides, and stop the bloodshed.
We are all totally @!$%#ed, world war 3 is in what I would call phase 1.a), collapse of social systems around the world including ( some form ) of collapse in the western world. Religion , Government, and everything that lies between them ( food, land and its ownership rights, oil, energy, manpower ) cannot be slowed or reversed. We have seen this before , revolution is nothing new. But with the technology and resources available today this will not be like the previous global conflicts...
Skeptical or not , everybody can admit we are seeing some familiar, and some not so familiar patterns occuring worldwide. Signals perhaps of a coming storm...
This is rubbish. Smarter people than you are already at work to produce a favorable outcome in Syria and for the region. And no, it will not involve revolution. Why do you think that anyone over there except for a few anarchists want revolution? Syrian young people are among the best educated in the world. You would be surprised. Their performance in math tests excel the USA for example.
are you retarded? the deputy minister said they would 'talk' about assad stepping down. Neither side is satisfied with that. This is an all out civil war and people are being martyred on both sides. Even if this resolves, the entire islamic world is igniting with hatred toward anybody who isn't muslim... The other major headline on this site when I clicked on this story was about a gang of jewish teenagers beating a palestinian nearly to death just for being arab. They literally said themselves they wished he would die because he was arab. No remorse. Their jewish mothers will be rolling in their social graves.
I can only pity you for not seeing what a great deal of us already see. Sorry to say.
the entire islamic world is not igniting with hatred- over a billion muslims and only a small fraction are involved in this "hatred" unless you have some facts that I do not know about????
Im not speaking in terms of sheer numbers. I am speaking geographically. We have islamist insurgency in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Palestine, ETC.... Meanwhile you have white supremacy groups in the US fuelling the hatred and 'preparing' themselves for some sort of race war...
You don't need to convince the entire muslim population to uptake a jihad, there are enough extremists available at any given time to fight the holy war, and even a single terrorist is too many., You have no idea what you are talking about if you think sectarian violence cannot trigger what can and will be the final stage of conflict on this planet for human beings. The final world war.
Cameron
Turkey has no 'Islamists' insurgency. While Turkey is predominately an Islamist nation their government is very secular. In fact, Turkey is the key to a peaceful end to this. Perhaps to the whole region. They seem to get along with all of the mid-east countries but are also a pretty good friend to the west. Well, maybe not Iran.
My husband works a lot in the middle east and Turkey.
Democracy certainly is a good idea... but it has "problems": it easily becomes the dictature of the "masses"... (the "uneducated" perhaps?).
Then, when the "masses" have not enough "education" and "culture' (beside religious or ideological dogmas) to accept and live with different others... and their belifes; the democracy start to shows it's many weaknesses...
In many cases, the democracy becomes a trampoline to extremist or fundamentalist gain the power pedestal from which they can overpower and subjugate their own citizen and fomulate the attacks on other peoples.
Yes, saddly, very saddly, I agree that WWIII is already going on...
For Obama his change of tactics should Syria start using chemical weapons will be to duck and hide. Or go on an extended golf trip somewhere.
I guess you really don't understand the subtlety of his pronouncement, do you?
It must be tough when 3rd grade is the toughest four years of your life.
Well I understand his subtlety and it's the same BS subtlety we listenend to from another president whilst I & hundreds of thousands of others were getting our a$$es shot off in VietNam.
But, the new "alignments" (Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and other fundamentalist Islamic countries in Asia and Africa) and some South American countries with their obtuse and demagogical leaders, represent a situation in which neither Obama nor Romney will be able to play their "mini, egoistical, golf".
This is another sign that the cautious Obama approach is the wisest for the USA and will ultimately lead to Assad departure, probably with UN mediation and a solution that will preserve a degree of dignity for Russia, and prevent all out war in Syria. This would be a 'win' for the Syrian people and also for cautious Western diplomacy not to be dragged into a another hell pit of ME politics.
Of course, the Syrian spokesmen will lash out at the USA. Who really cares! Everyone here and there already knows that this is posturing of the cornered cat before it turns tail and slinks off. Let him go, and let the Syrian people go free!
Another win for team Obama!
"Speaking after meeting China's top diplomat, Lavrov said Moscow and Beijing were committed to "the need to strictly adhere to the norms of international law ... and not to allow their violation," according to Reuters."
So does that mean there will be war crimes trials for those who have assaulted their own people?
The USA approved and supported the UN diplomatic "steps"... without solutions... The killings still go on. Assad is not reliable. He has say before that he accept the terms of the diplomatic steps... but never did it in the real life... It's not a matter of Obama and / or Romney: it's a matter of the whole world already inmerse in a war... Not "so" hot... not "so "cold"...
"That would change my calculus. That would change my equation." My? How about "OUR"? The USA is bigger than just you, President Obama.
Because 'we' won't be the one making the final decision. It's all on his head. That's the job of the President.
This is what congress has reduced us too? With an election coming up both side spew their garbage and the world sets back and laughs. Both sides own this mess and as I see it we can't afford to have a new President that has not even touched one topic on foreign affairs other than his botched trip last month. What a couple of idiots, one thinks he can gain votes by letting all the illegal's come and take over and the other that thinks, I don't know what the other thinks he has never said, oh ya he thinks the trees in Michigan are all the same height. We don't stand a chance in hell for the next 4 years.
Hey Guys , by the way this another BS from our Media , the guy never said Assad will resign , i do not know how we translate him saying , we will negotiate with no restriction and nothing will be forced on us , so here you go again , OUR MEDIA THE GREAT .
So the media DID accurately report what was said...and all the comments on here, presume something that WASN'T said. What's your point, again?
"But resignation before finding the mechanisms acceptable for Syrian people - is that a real democracy?" Jamil added.
What the hell does this murdering group of Syrian officials know about a democracy?! What a joke!
He will not religuish power until he is assured a location for himself and family
that leaves him in luxury for the rest of his life, as well as his family. Cannot blame
him for that. Still. he owes the world, and his country mush mor for what he has
done to them
Hate be him and his family always having to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.(guess their used to it though)
Seriously isn't this the same guy they "Claimed" defected a couple of weeks ago?
Just After POMPUS Obama Gives Secret Aid To Al-Qaeda (oops they're calling it the Free Syria Army now) but before the British Special Air Services (SAS) Admitted they have been Training and Leading Al-Qaeda in Syria (there I go again FSA) but after the Syrians Blow Upon Little Al-Qaeda Children Yet Before the Al-Qaeda (FSA) Controls all of Syria except all of the Cities but After the Bumbling Barry Draws a Red Line In The Sand story?
Hmm I think I see a Pattern here...Free Syria Army = Al-Qaeda and Bailout Barry is just Stumping to get US into another NOT WAR Billion Dollar Business for his Masters in the Military Industrial Corporations on Wall Street!
Hmm fine We The People Needed a Good Reason to IMPEACH the Bumbler ANYWAY! One more UN Not War ought to do it!
Remember Folks Refuse to Reward by Re-Election ANY of these Repub/Demo Incumbents for they have ALL FAILED US and and at least in Back Door Barry's case admittedly work for Al-Qaeda & Wall Street (same thing actually)!
If it is a Democrat Incumbent....Vote Republican....If it is a Republican Incumbent....Vote Democratic!
"Discuss" , Assad and his buddies just don't want to be hung or put down like dogs like Qaddafi and his buddies.
A proper trial like Saddam's seems in order though.(same outcome too)
Good luck in bringing any "rebels" to justice.
clydeturre Assad is not going anywhere till he get rid of these murdering thugs in his country , after that he might step down , but not before that , and he won't let NATO and these no good Gulf states the Saudis and Qataris ( Alqaida masters ) tell him what to do , like they do our politicians , hell they are responsible for 9/11 , but we still consider them our best friends , GO FIGURE ?????
Big Oil tells our politicians who are friends in the area are.
Guy
Not in Syria. No oil there.