Al-Manar Website: Russian Solution Bid with Syrian Opposition Yields 4 PM Names

Friday 23 September 2011

Al-Manar Website: Russian Solution Bid with Syrian Opposition Yields 4 PM Names

A Russian solution for the Syrian crisis is under discussion among Russian officials and active members of the Syrian opposition, well-informed sources told Al-Manar Website.

According to the information, the two sides have discussed four names for the post of Syrian Prime Minister in case a Russian sponsored deal was reached between Damascus and the Syrian opposition. The Russian parliamentary delegation to Damascus had sought to meet with a number of opposition figures, at a time intensive talks with the Russian government and its foreign ministry were in the making to clarify the positions and perspectives of the Syrian opposition.

Burhan Ghalyoun’s name was among four names brought up for the PM post but he was eventually rejected by Russia as he was known for being more inclined towards France’s policies. However, the prominent Syrian opposition member and Human Rights activist Haytham Manna was initially accepted for this post for being “prudent vis-à-vis Syria’s international relations”.

Among the four names, in addition to Ghalyoun and Manna - whose real name is Haytham Al-Awdat - was a lawyer by the name of Abdul Majid Manjounah and a professor at the University of Aleppo whose name is still unknown.

The Russian officials’ justification for their choice of Haytham Al-Awdat was that “the man is from the Syrian city of Dara’a, which is the cradle of the social movement, and because he enjoys great respect among the national and religious minorities and was one of those who still insist on rejecting any form of foreign interference in Syria.”