Former Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam held his first meeting with the leader of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group in Syria, Ali al-Bayanouni, who resides abroad.
The meeting took place at an undisclosed location in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
Following the meeting, al-Bayanouni told BBC Arabic that there was an agreement on a common vision for national action in Syria.
He stated that this vision includes contacting all national forces to reach a common working formula and prepare a national program for change with the aim of saving Syria from the crisis it is facing, according to him.
Al-Bayanouni added that the program also aims to protect against the dangers of corruption and tyranny prevalent in Syrian internal affairs, in his words.
He believes that the entire Syrian people are opposed to the regime and eager for change but need the unity of effective forces. He also expressed the belief that Syrians are capable of bringing about change.
However, he added, “All we ask from external forces is to lift their hand from this regime and stop supporting it.”
Khaddam resigned last year and moved to reside in Paris, the capital of France.
Since then, he has announced that he will collaborate with Syrian opposition leaders to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Last month, Khaddam stated that he would form a Syrian government in exile, saying in an interview with Der Spiegel, “I believe that Bashar al-Assad will be ousted from power during this year,” citing internal pressures due to economic problems and external pressures related to the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Khaddam stated, “His downfall has already begun, and I don’t think his regime will continue until the end of this year.”
He emphasized that he would not exclude any political group committed to democracy from the government in exile, stating, “We should not repeat the mistake of the Americans with the Iraqi Baath Party and the Syrian Baath Party. The majority of Baathists in Syria are against the regime, and they see the government’s mistakes every day.”
In a recent interview with BBC Arabic, Khaddam expressed his disapproval of involving the military in the process of change and emphasized the necessity for change to come from within Syria.
He also mentioned that the Syrian regime’s foreign policy is confused, leading to erroneous decisions such as the extension of the term of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, which resulted in the humiliating withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
