President Mohamed Morsi met yesterday with UN and Arab League envoy to Syria Al-Akhdar Al-Ibrahimi prior to the latter's trip to New York this week to inform the National Council of the developments in Syria and efforts to resolve it. Al-Ibrahimi briefed the President on the developments of the Syrian crisis and his assessment of the outlook of a peaceful settlement in addition to the international and regional efforts exerted to end the Syrian bloodshed asserting the necessity of integrating the different initiatives so that they constructively contribute to the desired solution. Al-Ibrahimi also reviewed the current situation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces following the decisions of the recent Arab summit in Doha, Qatar stressing the importance of maintaining the coalition's unity and supporting it through all decisions taken. The President praised Al-Ibrahimi's role affirming Egypt's continuous support for him to succeed at his task. The President explained that achieving a breakthrough in Syria would initially require a serious and prompt Syrian, regional, and international will to work towards the solution and that the National Council assume its responsibility while maintaining Syrian territorial integrity and the orderly transfer of power to civilians. The President further agreed with Al-Ibrahimi on the importance of the Syrian opposition's unity and safeguarding it from any procedure that could threaten its cohesion and hence prolong the conflict period. On the other hand, the President pointed to Egypt's efforts through the quartet group comprising Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, as well as Egyptian proposals to develop this mechanism to include other actors. Al-Ibrahimi praised the Egyptian proposal and suggested ideas for developing the Geneva formulation affirming the importance of the immediate initiation of serious negotiations between the regime and opposition. The President also affirmed that the Syrian crisis was on the top of Egypt's foreign policy agenda and that he is keen to continue coordinating and discussing with world leaders seeking future steps to resolve the crisis.
