MOSCOW - Demands that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad quit power are blocking efforts to end the 16-month-old conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Thursday, July 26.
Lavrov said such calls – made by the United States, several
European and Arab governments and Turkey – were fanning the
flames of violence and reiterated Moscow’s claim that support
for Syrian rebel groups was tantamount to backing terrorism.
“We propose things that would allow for an immediate
ceasefire, but the other side says, ‘No, either the regime
capitulates or we will continue to back … the opposition’s
armed fight’, justifying terrorist acts,” Lavrov said.
“As long as such support continues, what kind of
humanitarian action can we talk about? – including the
initiatives of those who will not allow this fire to die down,
but instead are fanning it,” he told a joint briefing with
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic in Moscow.
Russia, an ally of Syria, and China have faced vehement
criticism from Western states for vetoing U.N. Security Council
resolutions intended to increase pressure on Assad to end the
violence sparked by a government crackdown on pro-democracy
protesters.
Moscow retaliated this week, accusing the United States on
Wednesday of trying to justify terrorism against the Syrian
government.
The claim raised tensions surrounding a diplomatic spat in
the U.N. Security Council, pitting Russia and China against
their permanent veto-wielding counterparts the United States,
Britain and France. Washington has said it will seek ways to
tackle the crisis in Syria outside the world body.
Moscow has repeatedly criticised Western nations for
encouraging Assad’s foes and said they must put more pressure on
rebels to stop the violence in Syria, warning that some of those
fighting government forces are extremist militants.
Russia, which sells arms and makes use of a naval
maintenance facility in Syria, says its rejection of sanctions
is not driven by support for Assad but by a conviction that
Syrians must decide their own fate and opposition to military
intervention.
