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11Dec13

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Syria slams GCC summit statement as "lies, delusions"

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The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday slammed as "lies and delusions" the statement of a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, which accused Damascus of committing "genocide."

"Those who were sitting around the table at the summit in Kuwait, chiefly the Saudi regime, have contributed, and are still contributing, to the shedding of the Syrian blood and destroying the (Syrian) state," the Foreign Ministry said in a sharp riposte to the statement which "strongly condemned the continued genocide that (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad's regime is committing" in the statement.

Moreover, the leaders of the GCC countries, or Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, said al- Assad must play no role in any political transition agreed by the peace talks scheduled for next month in Geneva.

"Pillars of the Syrian regime whose hands had been stained by the blood of the Syrian people must have no role in the transitional government or Syria's political future," said the statement at the end of the two-day summit.

In turn, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said: "Their tears over the agonies of the Syrian people are nothing but the crocodile tears."

The ministry further slammed the participants of the summit, saying: "those who have gathered in Kuwait have nothing to do with the decisions and aspirations of the Syrian people, who have the right to decide about their leadership and draw their future."

The upcoming Geneva II peace conference is aimed at ending the nearly three-year-long conflict in Syria. The protracted crisis has killed an estimate of 126,000 people and driven millions from their homes.

[Source: Xinhua, Damascus, 11Dec13]

Syria War

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