Iran supports Syrian president’s plan to resolve crisis

The Iranian foreign minister has expressed Tehran’s support for the plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resolve the crisis in Syria.

“In line with its fundamental stance with regards to resolving the Syrian crisis in a political manner, Iran supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s initiative in proposing a comprehensive plan to defuse the crisis in this country,” Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday.

Salehi also hailed the Syrian president’s emphasis on Damascus’ continued support for Palestine and resistance against Israel.

In a key speech on Sunday, Assad said his government is always ready to hold talks with the opposition and political parties and will call for a “comprehensive national dialog” after foreign parties end their support for the militants and the terrorist activities end in the country.

Salehi said implementing the plan could pave the way for building a stable and bright future for the Syrian people and the region.

He also called on all Syrian parties and opposition groups as well as regional and international parties to use this opportunity and make efforts to resolve the current crisis and provide grounds for the realization of a Syrian-Syrian resolution in order to prevent instability and crisis from spreading in the region.

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.