India on Monday called for a peaceful and political solution to the Syrian crisis, saying that a political process for the resolution of the crisis should be led by the Syrians people.

Manjeev Singh Puri, the deputy Indian permanent representative to the UN, made the statement as he was taking the floor at a plenary session of the UN General Assembly on the human rights situation in Syria.

"The problem in Syria being primarily political in nature, India has, from the beginning of the protests, called for a peaceful and inclusive political process to address the grievances of all sections of Syrian society," he said.

"India is deeply concerned with the present situation in Syria that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and security forces personnel over the last 11 months," he said. "We strongly condemn all violence, irrespective of whoever the perpetrators are. We also condemn all violations of human rights."

"We are firmly of the view that a political process for resolution of the present crisis should be led by the Syrians themselves," he said. "We believe that the main role of the international community is to facilitate engagement of the Syrian government with all sections of Syrian society for an inclusive political process, taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians while ensuring respect for the country's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity."

"The League of Arab States, as an important regional organization, should play its required and historic role in promoting political dialogue among the Syrian parties," he said.

Meanwhile, he said that India welcomes the deployment of the Arab League's Observer Mission across several areas in Syria " which had a calming effect on the level of violence and provided a more accurate picture of developments."

"We have also been supportive of the efforts by the Arab League for a peaceful resolution of the crisis through a Syrian- led inclusive political process," he said. "We support the League 's call for serious political dialogue between the Syrian government and he whole spectrum of the opposition under the auspices of the League of Arab States."

"We believe that the leadership of Syria is a matter for the Syrian people to decide," he said.

"For an expeditious resolution of the problem in Syria, the League of Arab States should facilitate peaceful engagement of all opposition forces in Syria in constructive dialogue with the authorities," he said. "We hope that this will create a new environment for peace and promote a political process."