Iraqi foreign minister will lead an initiative in a bid to solve the Syrian crisis by holding talks with the Damascus regime, opposition groups and the Arab League.

Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari

Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, will lead an initiative in a bid to solve the Syrian crisis by holding talks with the Damascus regime, opposition groups and the Arab League.

"We had very positive discussions on Sunday with the secretary general of the Arab League, who supported our initiative alongside that of the Arab League in an effort to find a solution between the Syrians," Iraqi National Security Adviser Falah al-Fayadh told AFP by telephone from Cairo.

"Our next step is to launch our initiative, and this task will be led by the foreign minister (Hoshyar Zebari) who will announce the details and mechanisms to the Arab League and the Syrian parties soon," he said.

On Saturday, al-Fayadh said there were positive talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a visit with an Iraqi delegation to Damascus.
"Our efforts are still continuing to reach a deal between the government and the opposition in Syria," he said. "It's too early to speak about the results."

Meanwhile, the Arab League threatened, also on Saturday, to take Syria to the UN for “procrastinating” over a deal to end the unrest, after Russia proposed a surprise draft resolution to the conflict.
Fayadh said on Sunday that Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi is "for an Arab solution and against internationalization of the crisis."