ISTANBUL — Syria's opposition umbrella group, which most Western and Arab powers opposed to the Damascus regime have recognized, met Sunday in Istanbul in a bid to name a prime minister-in-exile, one of its leaders said. The Syrian National Coalition was discussing the idea of a government-in-exile but differences have emerged between members of the group, including over who should lead the new executive, an opposition official said. “A proposal was made to name Riad Hijab but it has run into much criticism,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Hijab is a former prime minister under President Bashar Al-Assad who defected in August last year and has since worked closely with Turkish leaders to help restructure the fragmented Syrian opposition. He is now based in Jordan. Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has rejected the idea that President Assad will be ousted, telling state television that those who demand his removal want only bloodshed in the country. Muallem said late Saturday that the United States and Russia were unable to agree on Syria “because they do not agree on what is meant by ‘period of transition'.” “The US continues to have the president's departure as a condition of regime change, ignoring the fact that the captain of a capsized ship does not jump into the first boat,” Muallem said. “As long as the Americans and plotters, including Syrians, cling to this condition, it means that they want continued violence and the destruction of Syria.” In an interview broadcast Sunday, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior aide to Iran's supreme leader warned against the overthrow of Assad, saying his fate was a “red line.” Velayati's assertion is one of the Islamic state's strongest messages of support for the Damascus government. Iran has steadfastly backed Assad's rule since an uprising against his rule began almost two years ago and regards him as an important part of the axis of opposition against arch-foe Israel. “If the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is toppled, the line of resistance in the face of Israel will be broken,” Velayati, who is seen as a potential contender in Iran's June presidential election, said in the interview. “We believe that there should be reforms emanating from the will of the Syrian people, but without resorting to violence and obtaining assistance from the (United States of) America,” he told Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen satellite television. On the ground, Syrian government troops battled rebels in several areas outside Damascus while regime warplanes bombed opposition-held areas around the capital, including an airstrike on one village that killed at least seven people. Much of the fighting Sunday was focused in areas east and south of the city, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, while government jets were bombing rebel areas. — Agencies
