No preconditions to solvie crisis: Syrian VP

DAMASCUS - Syrian Vice-President Farouq al- Shara'a stressed Monday that his country is seeking to solve the crisis without preconditions and in accordance to the peace plan laid forward by former UN special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan.

The vice-president's remarks came in a statement issued by his office Monday and published by pro-government media.

According to the statement, al-Shara'a has told an Iranian delegation who visited Syria Saturday that Syria's crisis should be solved without preconditions and through halting violence form all parties and embarking on a national dialogue.

Al-Shara'a has also informed the Iranian delegation of Syria's acceptance of the Iranian initiative, which will be discussed later this week at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran.

The vice president has also positively commented on the initiative by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who has recently proposed forming a quartet of contact group for resolving the crisis in Syria, including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said recently that his country will present a proposal for settling the conflict in Syria during the NAM summit to be held in Tehran on August 30-31.

Salehi did not give any explanation about the nature of the " proposal," but said it was "rational and acceptable" and "would be very difficult to oppose it."