Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's staunch ally Iran on Sunday announced a new six-point peace plan for the settlement of the Syrian conflict calling for an immediate end to violence, Iranian media reported.

The latest proposals were offered during the opening of a two-day conference that drew 200 Syrian religious and political figures and envoys from countries including Syrian neighbors Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the new peace plan has been drawn up in the context of the proposals already put forward by other countries, regional and international organizations, IRNA news agency reported.

The statement added that Iran strongly believes in a peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis and creating a basis to help the Syrian nation and government "leave behind the current crisis'.

According to the six-point peace plan, the Syrian people have the legitimate right to decide on their fate and future through an internationally recognized democratic process.

The peace plan called for an immediate end to any armed and violent actions and ushering in a democratic process under supervision of the United Nations. The plan called on the Syrian government and the opposition to cooperate with the UN and its special committee to stop armed operations, especially in the residential areas, to restore peace and stability.

The plan also called for sending humanitarian aid to Syrians following the end of the conflict, lifting all economic sanctions imposed against the country, and facilitating the return of displaced Syrians to their homes.

Further steps include national dialogue pursued by representatives of all political and social groups and the Syrian government to form a national reconciliation committee.

"This dialogue should pave the way to form a transition government with all groups' consensus. The main role of this government is to hold free and fair elections to form a new parliament, and the constituent assembly, to draft the constitution, and to hold presidential elections in due time," the statement said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in October said the only way to settle the Syrian crisis was holding free elections in the country.

However, at present holding elections in Syria doesn't seem real, as clashes between the government and opposition forces continue to escalate.

The peace plan also called for release of all Syrians arrested on political charges as well as bringing to trial all those who are responsible for atrocities.

The plan called on the media to stop circulating inaccurate information about the developments in Syria and foster suitable atmosphere for conveying the truth and reflecting the national aspirations of the Syrian people.

Iran has in the past offered initiatives to end the bloodshed in Syria, but all of them remained unanswered. Also, taking into account Iran's position in the conflict, opposition groups are reportedly unlikely to accept this plan.

Besides, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that Iran will prevent any Western plan to forcibly overthrow Syrian President Assad's government from succeeding, Mehr news agency reported on Monday.

He said foreign powers' efforts to change the Syrian government have reached their peak, but Iran will make every effort and will use all its resources to prevent the change of the political system in the Arab country.

"What Western countries and certain regional countries are now doing with regard to Syria is an obvious violation of all regulations and earthly and divine values... and is a hostile approach that cannot be justified under any circumstances," he said.

"Such actions should be halted, and it is what we have communicated to the United Nations, the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and a number of regional countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, within the framework of the six-point plan," he added.

Salehi also said that Tehran will continue supporting a Syrian national dialogue and believes that the only way to implement reforms and meet the demands of the Syrian nation is to conduct domestic negotiations without any foreign intervention.

Besides, Salehi criticized the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles along the Turkish border with Syria as more provocative than deterrent, Iranian Press TV channel reported on Sunday.

"The deployment of Patriot missiles will certainly not help establish security and stability in the region," Salehi said.

In the meantime, Iranian President Ahmadinejad canceled a scheduled trip to Turkey, a day after a top Iranian commander warned Turkey that the deployment of U.S.-made Patriot missiles was part of the West's plot to "create a world war," Hurriyet Daily newspaper reported on Monday.

Iranian diplomats have confirmed the cancellation of the visit.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ahmadinejad were set to discuss a number of issues, with their disagreement on Turkey's decision to deploy NATO Patriot systems on its soil expected to top the agenda.

On the other hand, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, has left Iran for Russia, to hold talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Fars news agency reported on Monday.

The sides plan to discuss recent developments in the Middle East, especially the latest events in Syria.

It appears that the deployment of the Patriot missiles on the Turkish-Syrian border can play an essential role in the resolution of the conflict. Therefore, Russia and Iran are reportedly the most concerned states on this issue as they can lose their ally in the Middle East, in case of military intervention in Syria.

Last month, the Syrian issue was also discussed during Bogdanov's visit to Iran.

A few days ago, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran and Russia regularly confer on the Middle East developments and particularly the situation in Syria.

"We both support Syrians and national dialogue, and are against foreign intervention in Syria," he said.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said his country stands its ground on Syria, highlighting that there is no alternative to a political solution in the conflict-plagued Arab state.

Meanwhile, Syria's vice president said a "historic settlement", involving the formation of a national unity government, was needed to end the long-standing conflict in the country, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.

Farouq al-Sharaa told a Lebanese newspaper that neither the forces of President Bashar al-Assad nor opposition fighters were able to win the war in Syria.

The situation in the country was heading from bad to worse, al-Akhbar newspaper cited him as saying in its Monday edition.

Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim figure in the minority Alawite-led regime, has served in top posts for almost 30 years.

"The solution has to be Syrian, but through a historic settlement, which would include the main regional countries, and members of UN Security Council," he said.

"This settlement must include ... the creation of a national unity government with broad powers," he added.

Syria has been wracked by violence, with at least 20,000 people, mostly civilians, killed since the uprising against President Assad began some 21 months ago.