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                Syrian Minister: Government Open to Peace Talks

   by VOA News

   The embattled Syrian government has welcomed any plans that would lead
   to peace talks to end the bloodshed in the country.
   Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi was responding Monday to the U.N.-Arab
   League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who said Sunday that he has a plan that
   is acceptable to world powers.
   Brahimi said the plan calls for all sides in Syria to end hostilities,
   enter into a national dialogue, and form a transitional government
   leading to new elections.  But the plan says nothing about the fate of
   President Bashar al-Assad, an omission that appears to have stalled its
   progress.
   Rebels refuse to negotiate unless Assad steps down and leaves the
   country. The Syrian president insists on fighting what he calls
   "foreign-backed terrorists."
   Meanwhile, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
   Monday that 30 tortured bodies were found in Barzeh district of the
   capital, Damascus. The bodies were not immediately identified
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-minister-al-halaqi-government-
   open-to-peace-talks/1575567.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-minister-al-halaqi-government-open-to-peace-talks/1575567.html