Russia: arming Syria rebels contradicts peace talks

Russia: arming Syria rebels contradicts peace talks
Fri Jun 28, 2013 17:37:09

Russian Foreign Minister has slammed West’s excuses on balancing the battleground in Syria before peace talks saying that the scheme contradicts the very essence of the peace talks.

Speaking at a Friday press conference in the Moroccan Capital of Rabat, Sergei Lavrov said, "The activities aimed at providing weapons to the opposition, which have recently intensified, only means that the precondition [set by the foreign-backed militants to restore a balance of power on the battle ground] is supported by the West and other countries which are going to supply such weapons, this contradicting the very concept of the conference, which is to begin without any preconditions."

The remarks came following Lavrov’s talks with his Moroccan counterpart Saad-Eddine al-Othmani when he also called on the United Nations to probe US media reports about arms contraband from Libya for Syrian insurgents, Voice of Russia reports Friday.

"If this is true, this is a gross violation of the UN Security Council ban on arms deliveries to and from Libya," Lavrov further emphasized.

"The Security Council committee authorized to observe the compliance with this embargo should naturally pay attention to the reports and make an inquiry," he added.

Speaking about the situation in Syria, Sergei Lavrov said that “Russia and Morocco constructively cooperate in UN and other organizations on Syria and many other international issues.”

Further addressing the Geneva-2 talks on Syria, Lavrov is cited in the report as saying, "Initially Russia and the US agreed on holding Geneva-2 talks without any preconditions, but now the opposition claims to observe “the military balance.”

"Russia insists on holding a conference in the parameters that were discussed initially, and the fact that the Western countries are now supplying weapons may mean that they support the existence of pre-conditions. I will ask US Secretary of State John Kerry about the emerging issues on the subject during my visit to Brunei next week," Lavrov said.

According to the report, Lavrov also denied report by the UK-based Guardian newspaper that the Russian embassy in Damascus would close on July 1. “These are rumors and speculations,” he emphasized.

The top Russian diplomat also denied reports that the Russian military base in Tartus is shutting down. “The embassy and the base are working in routine mode,” he was cited in the report as saying.

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.

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