Iran welcomes Assad peace initiative for Syria

An aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has welcomed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s initiative for peace.

In a meeting on Sunday with visiting Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, senior presidential advisor Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi said Assad’s peace plan matches the six-point peace plan the Islamic Republic unveiled recently.

Earlier on Sunday, Assad voiced his readiness for dialogue with the opposition and political parties in Syria. The Syrian leader also proposed general elections, adoption of a new constitution as well as a national reconciliation conference.

“The Syrian president’s new initiative clears the way for a stronger presence by Syria in politics and in resolving [ongoing] problems, and I believe that anyone who claims to be a supporter of the Syrian nation and its progress must support this plan,” Samareh Hashemi stated.

For his part, Al-Miqdad said the majority of Syrians consider Assad a symbol of resistance, integrity and unity, and back him.

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.

Several international human rights organizations have accused the foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.