Syrian president 'can still save his country': Hillary Clinton
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E-mail Xinhua, February 25, 2012
In a statement delivered at a press conference following the Friends of Syria Conference in Tunis on Friday evening, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can still "choose to save his country and his people from falling into ruins."
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| Tunisian and Syrian's Bashar al Assad Supporters shout slogans during a demostration in front of the conference hotel during the first "Friends of Syria" conference in Tunis on February 24, 2012. [AFP/Xinhua] |
![Tunisian and Syrian's Bashar al Assad Supporters shout slogans during a demostration in front of the conference hotel during the first 'Friends of Syria' conference in Tunis on February 24, 2012. [AFP/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20120225/00114320def110b2859730.jpg "Tunisian and Syrian's Bashar al Assad Supporters shout slogans during a demostration in front of the conference hotel during the first 'Friends of Syria' conference in Tunis on February 24, 2012. [AFP/Xinhua]")
Clinton admitted that the conference witnessed divergences, but a consensus also emerged among delegates to open up humanitarian corridors for civilians in Syria.
She did not openly broach on Saudi Arabia's decision to leave the conference in protest of the conference's "inaction."
The Gulf countries, including Qatar, favor a military solution to the conflict in Syria, calling for arming the Syrian rebels or sending in Arab forces to fight against Syrian government forces.
Clinton ruled out any military action against the Syrian regime, saying that the conference had agreed to step up pressure on the Syrian government, as well as imposing further sanctions on the country to put an end to the bloodshed.
The U.S. Secretary of State was confident that the Syrian regime would collapse from within as a result of a "military coup, " noting that over the past year military leaders have stepped in to remove unpopular leaders in the region, as happened in Tunisia and Egypt.
In the next days, various groups making up the Syrian opposition "will get together and make their voices heard," Clinton added.
Representatives from some 70 countries took part in the meeting which was organized by the Arab League.
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