Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Tuesday noted that embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had “launched reforms in March” in his country, calling for “closing all doors and windows in the face of the foreign plots agains

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Tuesday noted that embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had “launched reforms in March” in his country, calling for “closing all doors and windows in the face of the foreign plots against the Levant.”

Addressing a Syrian delegation from the coastal city of Tartous that visited him in Bkirki, al-Rahi said: “Together with you, we are looking forward to the implementation of the vital constitutional reforms Syria is in need of, and I know that the president launched those reforms in March.”

“Reforms that come from the outside would be more harmful than useful and unfortunately we saw how Iraq was destroyed by the reforms that came from outside,” the patriarch warned.

But he called on the Arab regimes to heed the peoples’ aspirations and “find the proper formulas for reform.”

“We are against violence, from whichever side it comes, because things cannot be tackled through violence, as violence breeds violence and tragedies and leaves countless victims,” al-Rahi cautioned.

He told the delegation: “We are with you and with all the Christians and Muslims in Syria, and we reiterate that we are one people in two neighboring countries. Everyone is on the ship, either we all be safe or we will all drown.”