West can't force its will on us, says Syria

Damascus, Sept 17: Syria's foreign ministry Tuesday said talks about the political and constitutional legitimacy in Syria is an "exclusive" right of the Syrian people.

In a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, the ministry said the US and its allies cannot force their will on the Syrian people, Xinhua reported.

"In a new confirmation about the size of their involvement in the Syrian crisis and their feverish resolve to impose their will and agendas on the Syrian people, the foreign ministers of the US, France and Britain have tried to promote their contradictory stances through trying to reconcile between their support of terrorism and their allegations about supporting the political process in Syria," the ministry said.

A day earlier, Britain, France and the US agreed to seek a "tough" UN resolution against Syria over its use and stockpile of chemical weapons.

During talks in Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague also announced a "major international gathering" next week in New York to seek further support for the Syrian National Coalition, the main Syrian opposition abroad.

"In order to negotiate a political solution, we need a stronger position," Fabius said.

"We, therefore, intend to strengthen our support to Syrian national coalition rebels. If you want to change the Assad regime without falling in the hands of the terrorists, you have to support the moderate opposition," Fabius added.

Meanwhile, the Syrian foreign ministry stressed that "President Bashar al-Assad is the legitimate president that the Syrian people have chosen and will remain so as long as the people of Syria want".

IANS