Ending Syrian crisis

That Syrian President Bashar Assad's peace initiative was given a cold shoulder by some members of the world community indicates the difficulty in finding a political solution to the crisis in the Middle East country.

On Sunday, Assad delivered his first televised speech since June, offering a three-phase solution to solve the ongoing crisis. It includes a cease-fire, a comprehensive dialogue on a "national charter", and the establishing of a broad-based government and parliament.

It was believed the speech was aimed to boost the morale of those who still support him and to show his government's enthusiasm for solving the country's crisis through political resolutions.

Given that his speech was issued at a time when a new round of political mediation, led by UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, is under way, the Syrian leader may also have wanted to send a signal to the outside world that he is willing to cooperate with international mediation efforts.

Nonetheless, Syria's main opposition and Western countries initially rejected his proposal. The United States regarded it as "detached from the reality" and reiterated its call for the ousting of Assad.

Apparently, as Assad's plan does not mention his future, those who have been insisting he step down are not satisfied. In a new development that has betrayed the real intentions of the West in maneuvering toward military intervention against Syria, NATO set out to deploy Patriot missiles on the Turkey-Syria border this week, with the US, the Netherlands and Germany sending troops or missile batteries and missile systems to Turkey.

The international community should remain committed to seeking a political solution to end the violence that is acceptable to all parties in Syria, as a forced regime change in a second Middle East country will have severe consequences for regional peace and stability.

The belligerent parties in Syria should give top priority to the fundamental and long-term interests of the Syrian people and put an end to their fighting as soon as possible. Efforts still need to be made to push both sides to work pragmatically, follow the objectives and principles set forth in the Action Group Geneva Communique and establish an inclusive transitional governing body to realize political transition in the country.

(China Daily 01/09/2013 page8)