Syria crisis: Assad sends top aide to meet Manmohan

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The Syrian President’s political and information advisor Buthaina Shabaan is expected to meet the Prime Minister on Tuesday when she will deliver a special message. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is sending his top aide Buthaina Shabaan to India to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and brief him about the ongoing conflict in the country. Ms. Buthaina, who is Mr. Assad’s political and information advisor, is expected to meet Dr. Singh on Tuesday when she will deliver a special message. She is also expected to meet other officials and apprise them about the latest security situation in the country, Syrian diplomats said. Ms. Buthaina had visited India along with President Assad in 2008. Ms. Buthaina’s visit follows Iranian Speaker Ali Larijani’s talks with the Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and other leaders during which the Syrian situation came up for discussion. Syria feels that India like Russia, Iran and China should play a positive role in ending violence in that country. It is supportive of U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s initiative on direct negotiations between two warring factions. India on many occasions has opposed military intervention in Syria and advocated negotiated settlement. India had told the U.N. that further militarisation of the conflict will make political settlement complicated and difficult.