Leaders of Islamic nations will press for a negotiated end to Syria's civil war at a summit in Cairo starting on Wednesday that thrusts Egypt's new Islamist president to centre stage amid political and economic turbulence. With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad making an ice-breaking visit to Egypt after 34 years of estrangement, the two-day meeting will focus on how to stop bloodshed in Syria, where Tehran is one of President Bashar al-Assad's last allies. A communique drafted by foreign ministers of the 56-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and seen by Reuters blames Assad's government for most of the slaughter and urges it to open talks on a political transition. It also endorses the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and urges it to speed up the creation of a transitional government "to be ready to assume responsibility in full until the completion of the desired political change process". The draft statement, subject to amendment at the summit, calls for a Syrian-led solution to the conflict, in which some 60,000 people have died, and rejected outside intervention. Without mentioning Assad, it says: "We urge the Syrian regime to show wisdom and call for serious dialogue to take place between the national coalition of the Syrian revolution, opposition forces, and representatives of the Syrian government committed to political transformation in Syria and those who have not been directly involved in any form of oppression..." SNC leader Moaz Alkhatib offered at the weekend to meet Assad's ceremonial deputy, Farouq al-Shara, for peace talks if the authorities released thousands of prisoners. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, will seek to project his country as the leader of the Islamic world when he opens the summit seven months after becoming Egypt's first democratically elected head of state. Egypt, the most populous Arab state, is taking over the OIC chair for three years at a time of upheaval in the Arab world and sectarian tension between the main branches of Islam. Morsi faces sustained protests at home by liberal and leftist opponents who accuse him of seeking to impose Islamist rule.
