WASHINGTON
US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland has referred to the SNC leader Al-Khatib's call for dialogue intended to end Assad regime, and said, "If the Syrian regime is interested in peace, then they accept Al-Khatib's offer."
In the beginning of the week, Moaz Al-Khatib, head of National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SMDK), announced that Syrians have agreed to negotiate with the government to stop the bloodshed.
In an ordinary press conference, over the topic Nuland stated they appreciate Al-Khatib's proposal.
Nuland noted that the ones who committed murder need to be made responsible and added, if Syrian regime is "interested in peace", then they need to accept Al-Khatib's offer.
Upon another question about Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's statements, Nuland said, "Comments from the Turkish leaders are obviously very troubling to us. We have in the last 24 hours conveyed our concerns on this matter with senior Turkish officials. Our view here is that all of us need to keep our eye on the ball, which is to get the violence to stop, to get Assad to step down and to turn the page towards a democratic Syria."
Moreover, upon statements coming from individuals in the Syrian opposition, Nuland said, "What I saw were some individual comments from some individuals. They in our conversation with the SOC (Syrian Opposition Council) do not reflect the views of the organization as a whole. But again there, what we're gratified by is that the leadership of the SOC is focused now on putting the pressure on Assad to step aside and let a transition begin and have real conversations about how that's going to proceed."
