Syrian Brotherhood rejects Russian initiative for January talks

The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, a dominant force in the opposition National Coalition, announced on Monday that it rejects the Russian initiative for talks between representatives of the Syrian opposition forces and the regime in Moscow next month. The initiative, claims the Brotherhood, represents an attempt to “do away with the revolution” and keep Bashar Al-Assad and the country’s feared security forces in power.

“We categorically reject the Russian initiative,” the movement said on its website. “We join our heroic people in their fight against the brutality of the criminal regime and its Russian and Iranian allies to gain freedom and dignity.”

The Brotherhood said that it is sticking to the vision of the Syrian revolution which demands that the regime is toppled and the security apparatus is dismantled in order to establish a civil state. It called on the international community to bear its humanitarian and ethical responsibilities to protect the lives of civilians and support the Free Syrian Army in carrying out its duties to defeat the regime.

The movement reminded the world that the Assad regime and its security forces have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. It stressed that it will support any political solution which is based on overthrowing the current regime and noted that despite its profound political disagreement with Saudi Arabia, it shares the same position as Riyadh on the Russian initiative.