Suleiman Slams Syrian PM's Attempted Murder: Dialogue Needed to End Country's Crisis

President Michel Suleiman condemned on Tuesday the failed assassination attempt against Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi and the car bombing in front of the Syrian Interior Ministry in Damascus' Marjeh district on Tuesday.

He said: “Dialogue among all parties is necessary to reach a political solution that will lead to national reconciliation in Syria.”

“Violence cannot lead to solutions, but it only complicates the crisis and increases the threat of division,” he warned.

At least 13 people were killed and 70 wounded in the Marjeh blast on Tuesday, Syrian state television reported.

The attack came a day after a blast in the Mazzeh neighborhood of the capital targeting Halqi.

The car bomb, which exploded as his convoy passed through the upscale neighborhood, killed one of his bodyguards and five other people.