By Xinhua

TEHRAN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- "National Syrian Dialogue Meeting" will start on Sunday in Iran's capital of Tehran, semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

Some 200 political representatives from Syrian ethnic groups, minorities and oppositions, along with representatives of the Syrian parliament, will attend the meeting, said the report.

Political figures from Sudan, Algeria, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq are expected to attend the Tehran meeting, and Iranian foreign minister will give an opening speech.

On Nov. 13, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, announced the plan of holding the meeting, saying that the meeting was aimed at direct talks between Syrian opposition and the Syrian government.

The slogan of the meeting will be "Violence No, Democracy Yes," Amir-Abdollahian said.

The plan for the meeting came as the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces was formed earlier this month in Doha, Qatar, which will be composed mainly of opposition groups outside Syria, but will also include activists inside the country as well as rebel commanders.

According to an agreement reached by the exiled opposition parties, once the new coalition wins international recognition, it will form an interim government in exile and call for a national conference if the Syrian current administration is ousted.

By holding the meeting in Tehran, Iran wants to push for its own agenda which aims at preventing Syrian President Bashar al- Assad's government from being toppled.

 

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