MOSCOW - Russia hit back at U.S. criticism of its stance on the conflict in Syria on Friday, saying Washington's suggestion that Moscow should "pay a price" for helping keep President Bashar al-Assad in power was "incorrect."
Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax news
agency that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement
went against the strategy for ending the bloodshed in Syria that
was agreed by world powers last Saturday in Geneva.
Russia, which is sensitive about outside interference in any
sovereign state, lobbied hard against efforts by other powers at
the Geneva talks to include a precondition that would have
excluded Assad from a proposed national unity government.
“The statement (by Clinton) was incorrect,” Gatilov was
quoted by Interfax as saying. “What worries us more than
anything is that such remarks go against the final document of
the Geneva talks, the adoption of which was approved with the
participation of the U.S. secretary of state.”
The United States is spearheading international efforts to
pressure Russia into backing sanctions against its ally Syria
and into helping facilitate Assad’s exit from power.
Clinton’s remark highlighted the gulf between Western and
Arab countries, and Russia and China. Beijing and Moscow have in
the past vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to
put pressure on Assad.
