“I have made very clear remarks on the issue. Any militarization of the Syrian issue will be disastrous,” Annan said at a joint press conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday.
In response to a question about his six-point peace plan about the unrest in Syria, he added that all the issues that the Syrian government and opposition have agreed to are based on non-military ways.
The former UN chief welcomed Iran's endorsement of his peace plan and stated, “It is very important to find out ways to put an end to the violence (in Syria) and to send humanitarian aid to the Syrian people as soon as possible.”
He lauded the “constructive” negotiations he held with the Iranian foreign minister on the ongoing situation in Syria and said the two sides agreed that a peaceful solution is needed regarding the issue.
Annan urged the opponents of the Syrian government to stop their armed attacks.
“All should respect this ceasefire and should observe” the plan, he said.
He hoped the military conflict in Syria would be settled at the earliest possible time to serve the national interests of the Syrian people.
He pointed to Syria’s strategic position and warned that any miscalculation would result in adverse consequences for the region and the world.
Salehi, for his part, said Tehran would support Annan’s six-point peace plan as long as the bid endorses the reforms by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He expressed hope that Annan would be successful in managing the Syrian issue “fairly”.
The Iranian minister further expressed Tehran’s opposition to foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs and stressed that any change in Syria should be made by the country’s government.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have been killed in the violence.
Syria has blamed outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist gangs for the unrest in the country, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the Syrian government of killing the protesters.
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UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan has once again warned against the militarization of the situation in Syria, insisting that the issue cannot be solved through military approaches.
News ID 181686
