Syria: Sending delegation to attend Geneva II talks

The Syrian government on Wednesday welcomed the UN's setting of a date for the Geneva II Conference with the aim of reaching a resolution for the political crisis gripping the country since March 2011. A Foreign Ministry statement carried by SANA news agency's Arabic page as well as state television said Syria is "sending an official delegation ... armed with instructions and directives by President Bashar Al-Assad and seeking to express the demands of the Syrian people, top of which are cessation of violence and an end to terrorism. In remarks to SANA in response to French and British officials' statements that there is no room for President Al-Assad in the transitional period, a Foreign Ministry source said, "the era of colonization and dictates is long gone ... It is time for them to wake up from their dreams and fantasies." The source said, "should they continue on with such dreams, there is no need for them to attend the Geneva II sessions because the People would not allow anybody to rob its exclusive right to determine its destiny and choose its leadership and representation." In harsher remark, the source added, "Geneva II is to seek meeting of the de mands of the Syrian people and not the demands of those who spilled Syrian blood."