Bulgaria Pledges Full Support to Syrian Opposition Forces

Bulgaria's Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Naydenov has declared his country's readiness to back the National Council of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

Naydenov has expressed Bulgaria's readiness to support the National Council's efforts to develop "a clear vision for the future of Syria as a democratic secular state that guarantees the rights of all its citizens."

"A continuation of the agony by the regime would mean more civilian casualties and the suffering of the people of Syria and represents a real threat to stability in the Middle East as well as to the entire region of South Eastern Europe," the Deputy Foreign Minister says in a statement.

"Bulgaria subscribes to the determination of the international community to continue its policy of putting pressure on the Syrian regime, including through the imposition of targeted restrictive measures against it. Bulgaria's forthcoming hosting in February 2013 of the sixth meeting of the working group on sanctions against Syria is an expression of our consistent policy and support for limiting the potential for a continuation of the repression and for achieving a way out of the crisis in Syria," the statement goes.

The "Friends of the Syrian People" group, which held its fourth meeting in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, has confirmed its commitment to a political solution to the crisis in Syria, has urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish power and has warned that the use of any chemical or biological weapons by his regime is unacceptable.

Participants in the Marrakech meeting welcomed the actions of the Working Group on Economic Development and the Coordination Group for Humanitarian Aid of the National Council of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which are working in co-operation with the international community to assist the distressed Syrian population.

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