Sharaa’s Appearance Ends Rebels’ Rumors of Defection

Local Editor

After rebels' rumors that he had tried to defect, Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa made his first public appearance in over a month  on Sunday.

Sharaa, who met head of the Iranian parliament's foreign policy committee, Aladin Borujerdi, was last seen in public at a state funeral for top security officials who were killed in a Damascus bomb blast on July 18.

After the opposition claims that the 73-year-old Sharaa had defected, state television on August 19 quoted a statement from his office saying: "Mr. Sharaa has never thought about leaving the country or going anywhere."

Pictures taken by an Agence France Presse photographer show Sharaa, dressed in a dark blue business suit and wearing glasses, holding talks with Borujerdi at his office in Damascus.

Borujerdi, whose government is Damascus' staunchest ally, was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying Sunday "We see Syria's security as our security. On this basis, we will stick by our Syrian brothers."

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem also said the government would only look at negotiating with the opposition after "purging Syria of armed groups," IRNA reported.

Sharaa, along with several other top regime figures, was slapped with sanctions by the United States and the European Union in May last year.

Sharaa has served in senior posts for almost 30 years under both al-Assad and his father and predecessor Hafez al-Assad, becoming vice president in 2006 after serving as foreign minister since 1984.

Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org