BEIRUT: Syria's foreign minister claimed Wednesday the Damascus government would soon present “an unprecedented example of democracy” in the troubled Middle East, a bold assertion for an embattled regime that has kept an authoritarian grip on its people for decades. Speaking during a televised news conference, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem also lashed out at European governments for slapping sanctions on Syria for its bloody crackdown on street protests against President Bashar Al-Assad's rule. “We will forget that Europe is on the map,” he said. Moallem's talk of democracy, two days after a major Assad speech, was the regime's latest attempt to blunt three months of widespread demonstrations, a movement that was inspired by pro-democracy upheavals elsewhere in the Mideast and that has persisted despite the reported killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces. “We will offer an example of democracy,” Moallem said, when asked about his vision for Syria in three months. “There will be social justice, equality before the law and accountability.” The statements by the longtime trusted Assad aide went beyond the vague promises of reform the president made in Monday's speech, and amounted to a rare official admission that Syria has ignored basic democratic principles. Moallem called for regime opponents to enter into political talks, and urged Syrian exiles to return, pledging that “even the harshest opponent” of the regime will not be arrested. The news conference appeared designed to present a picture of regime confidence at a time when Assad is coming under increased attack abroad and at home, where protesters call for the president's ouster and appear in no mood for negotiations. They note that the regime's previous talk of reform produced little. Moallem hit back at the government's critics, particularly Europe, which imposed sanctions on Assad and members of the leadership over its deadly crackdown on protesters. He said European Union sanctions targeted the livelihood of Syrian people and “that amounts to (an act) of war.” “We will forget that Europe is on the map and we will look east, south and toward every hand that is extended to us,” Moallem said. “The world is not just made up of Europe.”
