Egypt proposed Saturday to conduct negotiations between the Syrian regime and opposition in Damascus — a change in Egypt’s stance toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
The proposal was submitted during a ministerial meeting for the main countries supporting the Syrian opposition.
According to the proposal the Egyptian Interior Ministry posted on Facebook, negotiations would include the Syrian National Coalition and regime representatives who weren’t involved in the bloodshed.
A statement added that Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr called for the meeting due to the “necessity of reaching a political solution for the Syrian crisis that guarantees preserving unity among the Syrian people.”
President Mohamed Morsy had frequently expressed a more direct approach, particularly in his 5 September speech at an Arab League meeting in Cairo, in which he called on the Syrian leader to step down.
Morsy addressed the Syrian leadership saying, “Don’t listen to voices that persuade you to stay. Your presence will not remain for a long time.”
He also added that the moment was the time for change.
The change comes one day after Morsy made statements at a news conference in Russia, during which he declared that Egypt’s and Russia’s stances toward the Syrian conflict are similar.
Following the meeting with Russian officials, Morsy also called for a loan and an increase in Russian grain exports to Egypt in return for providing maritime services to the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean Sea. Morsy also proposed the development of a peaceful nuclear project for constructing nuclear plants for electricity and oil and gas excavation.
