Syria Hits Back, Asks GCC to Condemn 'Armed Groups Acts'

Syria’s foreign ministry on Sunday rejected criticism from the Gulf Cooperation Council of Damascus’ violent crackdown on protests and called for Gulf states to instead condemn "the violence of armed groups” and to “allow time for the reforms" proposed by President Bashar al-Assad.

“Syria has received with regret the statement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which completely ignored the information and facts presented by Syria on the killing and sabotage acts committed by armed terrorist groups seeking to undermine the homeland's sovereignty and security,” Syria’s state-run news agency SANA quoted a Syrian official source as saying.

The source added that the GCC statement issued on Saturday had “disregarded the package of reforms announced by President Bashar al-Assad in his speech on June 20, 2011, in which the president stressed the paramount importance of national dialogue to solve the current situation.”

“Neither the negative stance of the opposition nor the continued killing and sabotage acts prevented the political leadership from moving forward in implementing the announced reforms according to a certain schedule,” the source added.

The source called on GCC states to “reconsider their stances taking into account the Syrian leadership's efforts to overcome the current crisis, achieve stability and security and meet the needs of the Syrian people.”

Gulf states on Saturday turned up the heat on Damascus, joining a growing chorus of international pressure over Syria’s violent crackdown on the opposition.

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council called for an "immediate end to violence ... and bloodshed."

Its statement urged a "resort to wisdom and introducing serious and necessary reforms that would protect the rights and dignity of the (Syrian) people, and meet their aspirations."