Syria's Muslim Brotherhood vows to respect democracy once Assad regime is toppled

Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood will share power and respect democracy if President Bashar al-Assad is toppled, its leader said on Sunday.

“The regime is trying to show that the Muslim brotherhood are trying to control Syria alone,” Mohammad Riad Al Shaqfa told a news conference in Istanbul in remarks translated into English.

“We want a democratic Syria and we do not want to control the country alone,” he said, ahead of the international conference of “Friends of Syria,” scheduled in Istanbul for April 1.

The Lebanese Forces on Monday welcomed Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood statement that the party would share power and respect democracy if President Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

The LF especially welcomed the part of the statement that tackled Syria’s relations with Lebanon, and said it was looking forward to its implementation.

Meetings of various factions of Syrian opposition will take place this week in Istanbul, and “90 percent of the opposition parties will be united by April 1, under the umbrella of Syrian National Council,” which already includes majority of opposition parties, said the Islamist leader.

The movement’s number two, Farouk Monir Khalid, described as “good news” a decision by the United States to assist Syrian rebels in a non-lethal fashion.

“It is a good step to help” the rebels, he told AFP.

US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Sunday on the need to send “non-lethal” aid to Syrian rebels, including communications equipment, said US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

The United Nations says at least 8,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-regime protests broke out last year.

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