Russia tells US to clarify its Syria policy

Russia tells US to clarify its Syria policy
Thu Jun 27, 2013 09:08:14

Russia, irked by US double-standard games on Syria, has called on Washington to clarify its stance on the expected international conference on the crisis in the Arab country.

"We expect more clarity from the meeting with (US Secretary of State) John Kerry about the US position regarding the joint Russia-US initiative to convene an international conference on Syria," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
 

Lavrov’s comments come as, despite calling for political solutions, the US has already started sending arms to militants in Syria, a move which is seen as a blow to Moscow’s efforts to start talks for settling the dispute.

"The Syrian leadership has confirmed its readiness to send a delegation to the conference in Geneva without any preconditions, whereas the opposition is divided. The National Coalition of Syria supported by our western partners refuses to attend the conference until (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad steps down," Lavrov said, calling the situation "regrettable".

Lavrov said on Wednesday that the closed-door meeting failed to specify a date for the conference due to the unwillingness on the part of Syria's opposition to participate without preconditions.

Divided opposition in Syria which has been conducting a bloody insurgency in the country with the help of numerous terrorist and extremist groups pouring from foreign countries to fight against the government has not shown willingness to cooperate for starting negotiations.

The US repeated and endorsed their last stance on the talks which was continuing the war until compensating their losses in the battleground and then sitting for talks.

However, on Tuesday, the United Nations said in a statement after the preparatory meeting that Kerry and Larvrov would meet next week to discuss the Syrian crisis.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that Kerry and Lavrov would meet at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference in Brunei.

Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions by the United States, UK and their regional and Western allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and the Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region has ever experienced.

The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken more than 90,000 lives.

In an interview broadcast on Turkish television in April, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.

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