Egypt’s Mursi opposes foreign intervention in Syria
26 Sep 2012 11:33 PM GMT
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has said that he opposes anfforeign military intervention in the Syria conflict, but believes President Bashar al-Assad must go.
In an interview with PBS television’s Charlie Rose ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Mursi said the diplomatic quartet of Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey could help end the 18-month-old conflict.
‘I am against foreign intervention by force in what happens in Syria,’ Mursi said on Monday. ‘I do not condone this and I think that it is a big mistake if it happens,’ he added through an interpreter.
Mursi, a former senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood who became Egypt’s first democratically elected president in June, said Arab nations should ‘support the people of Syria in their march toward freedom.’ ‘President Assad has no choice but to leave,’ Mursi added.
‘There is no room for political reform. Change is what the people want, and the will of the people must be respected,’ he added.
Mursi said he had brought together officials from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in a bid to find a solution to the conflict, in which Syrian activists say more than 29,000 people have been killed.
The Syrian government has accused Saudi Arabia and Turkey of arming opposition rebels, while UN experts have said Iran is arming Assad’s forces.
In an interview with PBS television’s Charlie Rose ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Mursi said the diplomatic quartet of Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey could help end the 18-month-old conflict.
‘I am against foreign intervention by force in what happens in Syria,’ Mursi said on Monday. ‘I do not condone this and I think that it is a big mistake if it happens,’ he added through an interpreter.
Mursi, a former senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood who became Egypt’s first democratically elected president in June, said Arab nations should ‘support the people of Syria in their march toward freedom.’ ‘President Assad has no choice but to leave,’ Mursi added.
‘There is no room for political reform. Change is what the people want, and the will of the people must be respected,’ he added.
Mursi said he had brought together officials from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in a bid to find a solution to the conflict, in which Syrian activists say more than 29,000 people have been killed.
The Syrian government has accused Saudi Arabia and Turkey of arming opposition rebels, while UN experts have said Iran is arming Assad’s forces.
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