Syria ready to support formation of unity government: FM

Syria says it is ready to engage in initiatives that could lead to the establishment of a unity government in the war-torn country.

In an interview with Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV aired on Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said the Damascus government has proposed a political roadmap that could put an end to more than five years of war in the Arab country.

He said Damascus would support the idea of holding a referendum on a new constitution followed by parliamentary elections and the formation of a unity government.

Muallem said, however, that a main obstacle to the political settlement of the conflict in Syria was the support provided by governments like the United States, Britain and France and their allies in the Middle East to terrorists operating in the Arab country.  

He charged the three Western countries with convening a meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday to support terrorists in Syria.

The top Syrian diplomat said the truce deal brokered by Moscow and Washington two weeks ago is still viable. He, however, blamed the US military for the collapse of the ceasefire by mounting a deliberate attack on Syrian armed forces positioned in a military base east of the country.

He said the attack two weeks ago the army positions on Tharda Mountain in Dayr al-Zawr was deliberate and in coordination with Daesh Takfiri terrorists who “rushed to take control of the area only one hour after the aggression.”

SS