France Press

DAVOS, Switzerland: Tunisia's foreign minister on Thursday urged the Syrian regime to "listen to its people," saying that Damascus has no choice but to accept the Arab League's proposals.
"The Syrian people want a democratic system that preserves their dignity," Rafik Abdessalem told AFP on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

"The Syrian regime should listen to its people, the people in the streets. Syrians are not different from Tunisians or Egyptians," he said, referring to the popular revolts that led to the ouster of presidents Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak.

"It's a real revolution. The Syrians want real political reforms, real democracy. We are working hard with the Arab League to push the Syrian regime to listen to the voice of the people, but we need time," he stressed.
According to the minister, there is no solution other than that suggested by the Arab League, which is that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hand over power to his deputy and clear the way for a unity government within two months.

"What other solution could there be? We do not want any military intervention in Syria," said the Tunisian minister.
Abdessalem said Tunisian observers who are part of the pan-Arab group's mission have remained in Syria, even though Gulf states have joined Saudi Arabia in pulling their observers out of the country.
"We have five observers who are working in Syria. We are not completely satisfied but we need some time to evaluate the situation," he said.