Syrian Brotherhood condemns Kerry’s call for talks with Assad

Leader of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Walid yesterday condemned calls by US Secretary of State John Kerry for talks to be held with Syrian regime President Bashar Al-Assad, the Anadolu Agency reported.

In a press conference held in Istanbul, Walid said: “After all American officials have accepted that Al-Assad is out of any prospective solution, Kerry came to call for negotiations with him.”

He mentioned that Kerry’s remarks were corrected later on, but stressed that such a senior official “must not make such mistakes”. Adding that UN envoy to Syria, Staffan De Mistura, previously made similar calls.

“Such calls are oppressive and the Muslim Brotherhood or any Syrian who values the sacrifices of the Syrians cannot accept any solution which includes Al-Assad,” he stressed.

Walid went on to express his sadness that the fate of some religious sects in Syria is being connected to that of Al-Assad.

“In Syria, all Syrians have been living as one society despite their different sects, political affiliation and ethnicities since the early ages,” he said. “Since the independence, all Syrians have been living peacefully and in full harmony. It is incorrect to connect the fate of a whole sect with the fate of a person.”

He also said that the Syrian revolution has expanded to be a hub for different projects: Iranian, Western-Zionist and extremism projects. He stressed the Syria that his group is hoping for is a civil state with an Islamic reference.

“Such a state guarantees equal rights and duties for all Syrians. No matter what their sect or ethnicity, they will enjoy freedom, dignity and full rights,” he said.

Criticising Iranian support for Al-Assad, Walid said it was aimed at setting up a sectarian regime in Syria in order to spread the Shia sect.

Walid said Turkey stands beside the Syrians and it is the “lung through which the Syrian revolution breathes” and it is the country which hosts millions of the Syrian refugees and deals with them with great nobility.

“The aid which Turkey offers to the Syrians could not be forgotten through history,” he said.

He criticised the selectivity of the international community in dealing with the Syrian issue as it has been ignoring a certain side, while giving much support for another.