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| Syrian FM calls on opposition groups to join peace talks |
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 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has called on the "nationalistic opposition" groups to lay down their weapons and join talks for the formation of a wide representative government.
Muallem made the remarks on Saturday during an interview with the Syrian state television.
The Syrian foreign minister added that rejecting the foreign intervention and renouncing terrorism are preconditions for joining the new cabinet.
He said the Syrian government would continue its efforts for paving the way for dialogue and transition over the next three months.
"The question is if the violence doesn't stop should we continue with the dialogue or not? I say we should continue," Muallem noted.
He also said that any talk of the removal of President Bashar al-Assad in a future transitional government is “unacceptable.”
"No one should dare discuss the position of the president... this is unacceptable," Muallem stated.
He reiterated that a new parliament and constitution, which was proposed by Assad earlier this month, was the only way forward out of the crisis.
The top diplomat added that Assad's latest initiative for national dialogue was the only accepted reading of the Geneva transition plan for Syrian government.
"There were a lot of ambiguities (in the Geneva proposal) and we were unable to clarify them. So this Syrian political program is our interpretation of the transitional period mentioned in the Geneva declaration," he said.
"We will not discuss anything outside of this program."
Talking about the role of the U.S. in the Syrian crisis, Muallem stressed that "if the U.S. wanted the violence in Syria to stop, it will stop."
He also criticized the U.S., Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for arming and financing the militants in Syria.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Damascus says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings.
Western states have been calling for Assad to step down. However, Russia and China are strongly opposed to the Western drive to oust Assad.
The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals, mostly from Egypt, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia.
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