Greece stresses peaceful settlement of Syrian crisis

Greek Foreign Ministry's Director-General for Political Affairs Parasekeh Dimitrius Violus extended Athen's full support for efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria. Speaking at a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Tehran on Monday, the Greek official stressed that Athena supports the convening of the Geneva peace conference which is aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Violus further expressed concern over the escalating level of violence committed by foreign-sponsored Takfiri groups operating inside Syria. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots to topple President Bashar al-Assad, who is well known in the world for his anti-Israeli stances.