MOSCOW, July 10 (Xinhua) — A senior member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) said here Tuesday that the opposition umbrella group ruled out any forms of dialogue with President Bashar al-Assad.

“There can be no dialogue with the ruling regime. There can only be talks on how to switch to a new political system,” Basma Kodmani, a member of the SNC Executive Board, told a new briefing.

According to Kodmani, toppling Assad’s government was the primary task of Syrian opposition groups.

“What unites the Syrian opposition is the agreement to topple the existing Syrian regime and create a new political system in the country,” she added.

She also called on Russia, an influential power to the Assad government, to help the opposition to “turn the page of the old regime and transform to a new democratic order.”

Kodmani also rejected Iran’s participation in the international meeting concerning the Syria crisis, as Tehran has offered financial and military assistance to Damascus.

Also on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said the delegation of the SNC will hold talks with the Russian side on UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan and the final declaration of the Geneva meeting.

An action group of world powers gathered in Geneva on June 30 and agreed on a roadmap to pave the way for a Syrian-led transition to end the country’s 16-month conflict.

Bogdanov said that Moscow would welcome another meeting of the action group in Moscow. Meanwhile, he stressed that no foreign power had the right to decide the fate of Assad.

Editor:Zheng Limin |Source: Xinhua