Muallem Warns of Reprisals for Recognition of Syrian Opposition
Syria will retaliate against any country that recognizes the opposition National Council, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Sunday.
"We will take significant measures against any country that recognizes this illegitimate council," Muallem told a news conference, as the newly formed opposition group lobbied for support in Cairo.
Damascus is a proponent of national dialogue and all opposition groups "are invited to participate for the future of Syria,” he said.
Formed in Istanbul at the end of August, the Syrian National Council unites all the major known factions opposing President Bashar Assad's rule, both inside and outside Syria.
It includes the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network spurring protests in Syria, the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood as well as Kurdish and Assyrian groups.
The United Nations estimates that a total of more than 2,900 people have been killed since Syria launched its brutal crackdown on dissent in mid-March.
But Damascus plays down the scope of the opposition movement and blames "terrorists" and "armed gangs" for the country's violence.
Source: Agence France Presse
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