UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Calls by Western leaders for the Syrian president to step down are "intolerable" expressions of colonialism, a Venezuelan official said.
Mark Toner, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said in a briefing to reporters this week that Syrian President Bashar Assad "needs to step down."
The United Nations estimates that around 3,000 people have died at the hands of Syrian security forces since the uprising against Assad began in mid March. Toner said that some members of the opposition are resorting to violence as an act of self-preservation.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro Moros told the U.N. General Assembly that Damascus was a likely a potential victim of "colonial wars."
"It is intolerable that the powers of the world intend to claim for themselves the right to direct the lawful rulers to resign immediately," he said. "This was the case in Libya and they want to proceed in the same way in Syria."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during meetings with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said it was time for the bloodshed to end.
"The secretary-general reiterated his call for an end to violence and for a genuine process to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the people for comprehensive political change," a readout of the meeting from Ban's office stated.
