Countries must not ‘impose’ demands on Syrians: Iran

Syrians must be able to decide their own fate free of impositions by other countries, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, according to a statement posted on his official website on Thursday.

Ahmadinejad also accused the United States and its allies of opposing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with the goal of dominating the Middle East and propping up Israel.

The comments were published ahead of a “Friends of Syria” meeting in Paris on Friday aimed at coordinating Western and Arab efforts on Syria, which is in the throes of nearly 16 months of bloody internal conflict.

“The main enemies... are trying to revive their domination of the region and to save the occupying regime from destruction,” he told visiting Syrian parliamentary speaker Jihad al-Lahham on Wednesday, according to his presidential website.

“The Americans are seeking only their interests, and it is the right of the people of the region, including the great Syrian people, to freely decide their own fate and others should not impose their demands on them,” Ahmadinejad said.

Lahham was quoted as saying after meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi that “despite all plots and political and social pressures, the Syrians will pass this decisive phase by relying on domestic capabilities.”

Salehi on Wednesday reaffirmed Tehran’s strong stance against “any kind of foreign intervention” in Syria, according to state media.

Meanwhile, China said on Thursday it is currently not considering attending the “Friends of Syria” meeting in Paris that is aiming to coordinate Western and Arab efforts to stop violence in the country.

China did not attend the previous two “Friends of Syria” meetings.

“(China) at present does not consider attending the meeting,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters when asked about a French invitation to be involved in the event that is due to take place on Friday.

The Paris meeting follows one in Tunis in February and another in April in Istanbul that both called in vain for tougher action against Assad’s government.

The United States, France, Britain, Germany, along with Arab nations Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are leaders of the “Friends of Syria.”

The group has more than 60 members, including most of the EU states and many Arab League countries.

But Russia, a long-time ally of Assad’s regime, has said it will stay away from the Paris meeting after accusing the West of seeking to distort a weekend deal by world powers in Geneva aimed at achieving a transition of power.

China backed Russia in Geneva on insisting that Syrians must decide how the transition should be carried out, rather than allow others to dictate their fate, and did not rule out Assad remaining in power in some form.

The Western powers have said Assad should not be part of any new unity government.

Fighting in Syria has intensified in recent weeks as government and opposition forces have received more weapons from foreign backers. Monitors say the conflict has killed more than 16,500 people since March last year.

In related news, the Free Syrian Army, the most prominent armed opposition group to emerge out of the 16 month-long violent uprising against the Syrian regime, said on Wednesday it controls almost half of the country.

Ahmed Qassim, a coordinator within the army told Al Arabiya that the group controls 40 percent of Syrian territory.