“Rome – UPI – Yesterday, the former deputy to the Syrian President, Abdel Halim Khaddam, stated that engaging in dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ‘means accepting his presence and the presence of his regime.’ He questioned, ‘Who (from the opposition) dares to sit down with the regime for a dialogue?’
The Italian news agency ‘AKI’ quoted Khaddam as saying, ‘The Russians haven’t changed their position at all; they still adhere to the principle of political dialogue with the Syrian regime as a means to achieve a solution.’ He added that he emphasized to Russian envoy Mikhail Bogdanov, whom he met in Paris on Sunday, that ‘any talk about dialogue with the criminal regime is futile, and this doesn’t just apply to the opposition, but to every honorable Syrian.’
Khaddam wondered, ‘Who dares to sit down with the regime for a dialogue, after all the destruction and devastation it has caused to Syria?’ He indicated that dialogue with Assad ‘means accepting his presence and the presence of his regime,’ asking, ‘On what basis would this dialogue be? How will the parties find common ground?’
He considered, ‘Even if the head of the regime relinquishes power, the structure of the security apparatus won’t change. The problem isn’t in his person, but in the regime’s mechanisms.’
Regarding the proposal to form a transitional government in Syria, he said, ‘A government without a program won’t provide a solution; without a program, it can’t last for more than 10 days.’
He believed that ‘the interim government is supposed to coincide with the collapse of the regime. Personally, I don’t agree with the perspective of forming a government in the presence of the murderous regime, even if it includes all opposition factions.’
Khaddam pointed out that many opposition figures’ attempts to crystallize this government ‘have failed, just like all the exile governments that lack a presence on the homeland.’
He added, ‘We say frankly, there are no liberated areas at present that the regime can’t access through its aircraft and artillery.’
He believed that ‘expediting the regime’s downfall is possible through the formation of a coalition from the international community outside the Security Council for intervention’ in Syria, considering that ‘as soon as the first 3 fighter jets take off above the areas controlled by the regime, it will collapse.’
Khaddam emphasized that ‘delay in international intervention will lead to the growth of extremism in Syria, and this matter won’t only harm Syria, but will also harm the interests of all countries in the region.’
He considered that ‘establishing an Alawite enclave in Syria is impossible because no citizen can accept dismantling the national fabric,’ confirming that ‘this type of division failed in the 20th century when the French established an Alawite state.'”
