Assad Departure Only Way out of Crisis: Opposition Figures

Doha, January 05 (QNA) - Syria's umbrella opposition body has renewed its rejection of dialogue with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, describing any talks as pointless. Speaking to QNA, Syrian National Coalition member Ziad Abu Hamdan said the talk about Assad remaining in power is in itself a sufficient reason to reject dialogue with this regime, stressing that Assad and his regime must relinquish power first and only then there will be dialogue on post-Assad Syria. Abu Hamdan said the Coalition opposes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's invitation for dialogue with the regime that "committed the most heinous crimes and exercised genocide war against its people who are calling for freedom, so this would be pointless talk." Several-day talks in Doha in November culminated in the formation of the coalition, which replaced the now-defunct Syrian National Council as a representative of the opposition factions to act as a wider umbrella and include representatives of groups fighting the civil war on the ground. Abu Hamdan acknowledged the opposition body made mistakes but attributed it to "the difficult historical juncture the Syrian revolution is going through," adding that the coalition is capable of leading the current phase. The Syrian dissident defended the use of arms against the regime, which he says, has lost its legitimacy and has to go after "it crossed all the red lines in dealing with the uprising going as far as using Scud missiles against civilians." Another member of the Coalition, Ahmed Sayed Ramadan, has resonated Abu Hamdan's rejection of dialogue with the Syrian regime and accused the international community of failing to support the Syrian people. "Working on a settlement is intended to protect the regime at a time the revolution is about to achieve its objectives," Ramadan said, stressing the opposition's refusal for the transition process to include any dialogue with the Assad regime or to leave behind any of its components. Ramadan launched a severe criticism of the different sides providing Assad with weaponry, saying that they are the reason the Syrian opposition took up arms. Despite international concerns about the Syrian crisis being drawn into a full-blown civil war, Coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni rejected the claims, saying that it is the Assad regime who wants to divide the country. "No fear for the future after the departure of the Syrian regime," he said, stressing that the Syrian people are capable of staying united. (QNA)