By IANS,
New Delhi : India Friday said it supports a peace plan for violence-wracked Syria put forward by Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and for a negotiated settlement backed by the UN.
“We are highly supportive of the peace plan for inclusive dialogue put forward by Brahimi,” said an official source here.
In view of the “growing conflict” in Syria, which has seen more than 40,000 people killed since March 2011, “there is need for internal dialogue… and a settlement process should be backed by the UN,” the official said.
India has maintained it is against external intervention in Syria.
Brahimi’s plan, proposed late in December, calls for a transitional government to lead Syria until elections. However, the document left open whether Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad or his officials could serve in the body. The plan has been rejected by Syria’s opposition, which is adamant that Assad has to go.
Brahimi’s plan, which was earlier unveiled by world powers at an international conference in Geneva in June 2012, called for an open-ended cease-fire, a transitional government to run the country until elections, and the draft of a new constitution. It is known as the Geneva Plan.
Russia, which is against the ouster of Assad, too has voiced support for the plan.