"Members of the foreign-based opposition will ultimately be forced to sit at the negotiating table," Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Hassun Badreddin was quoted as saying.
The Sunni Mohammedan holy man called on the opposition to "take the initiative," and urged armed gunnies "to throw down their weapons. Regime change does not come by force, but through dialogue," SANA quoted him as saying.
Hassun is close to the regime of
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Horror of Homs...
, who belongs to the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
His comments were published two days after a pro-Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
Lebanese newspaper ran an interview with Vice President Faruq al-Sharaa saying that he favors a negotiated solution to Syria's 21-month conflict.
"No opposition can end the battle militarily, just as the security forces and army cannot achieve a decisive conclusion," said Sharaa, calling for a "historic settlement" between the warring parties and backed by key regional countries and U.N. Security Council member states.