By Hatice Vildan Topaloglu
ANKARA
The U.N.’s “action plan” to call a temporary halt to the violence in Syria will only work to strengthen the Assad regime, an opposition leader said on Friday.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, the defense minister of the Syrian provisional government Mohammad Nour El-Halluf said that the U.N. Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura's plan to call a halt to the ongoing violence in Aleppo and certain Syrian provinces will only work in favor of the Assad regime.
“It is not possible for us to accept this plan, because we do not see anything in it to resolve the problem. Our people do not want a local anesthesia. The plan in question will only help the regime to gather its dispersed strength and concentrate it in a specific region,” Halluf said. De Mistura has fallen into a trap set by the Assad regime with his plan to halt the violence as proposed in late October, Halluf added.
Halluf said that the real solution will come from the international coalition in Syria. The opposition does not reject holding a third Geneva conference which will reflect the will of Syrian people, “We are in direct or indirect contact with all the parties fighting in Syria.”
Commenting on the airstrikes by the U.S.-led international coalition forces in Idlib, at the very same place which was also bombarded by Assad regime, Halluf said: “It raises the question of whether the U.S. and the Assad regime are cooperating.”
Halluf also commented on the potential siege of the strategically significant city of Aleppo by regime forces. “If there is a possibility of a siege of Aleppo, and the people will anticipate it, they may have to take refuge in Turkey. Assad not only gives Turkey a hard time with the refugees, he also threatens the country’s security with the terrorists he exports.”
According to the U.N., the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has claimed more than 190,000 lives, and nearly 11 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country.
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