MOSCOW: Russia warned Western and Arab nations on Wednesday against arming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s foes, saying it would lead to years of bloodshed and would not enable the opposition to defeat government forces.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the ‘Friends of Syria’ group of Western and Arab nations is undermining international envoy Kofi Annan’s efforts to end more than a year of violence, and criticised countries that support arming the opposition.
‘It is clear as day that even if the opposition is armed to the teeth, it will not defeat the Syrian army, and there will simply be slaughter and mutual destruction for long, long years,’ Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
Russia has emphasised that U.N. Arab-League envoy Annan’s peace efforts are the only path to peace and has stayed away from ‘Friends of Syria’ meetings, saying the group is biased in favour of Assad’s opponents and is not promoting peace.
‘Everyone has supported Kofi Annan’s plan but decisions at the ‘Friends of Syria’ group meeting aimed at arming the opposition and at new sanctions undermine peace efforts,’ Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying during a visit to Azerbaijan.
Western and Arab nations said after a ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting on Sunday in Istanbul that the group would consider further ‘measures with a view to the protection of the Syrian people’.
The group made no mention of arming the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), as advocated by some Gulf Arab states, but hardline Gulf states may interpret the phrase as a licence to fund, if not arm, the FSA.
Russia has joined China in vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions condemning Assad’s government for the violence, and says foreign calls for his exit are unacceptable.
The United Nations estimates Assad’s forces have killed more than 9,000 people in the past year, while the government says about 3,000 security personnel have been killed by what it describes as foreign-backed gangs of terrorists.
Assad has agreed to a ceasefire negotiated by Annan from April 10.
Russia has agreed with the stipulation that the government must take the first step, but has emphasised that the opposition must swiftly take measures to comply.
On Tuesday, the Kremlin’s Middle East envoy called for ‘actions in response by the Syria opposition and its armed groups, including a clear affirmation of dedication to the ‘Annan plan’ and practical steps to implement it’.
Syria has given post-Soviet Russia its firmest foothold in the Middle East, buying billions of dollars worth of weapons and hosting a maintenance and supply facility that is Russia’s only warm water naval port outside the former Soviet Union.
Russia has promised ‘full support’ for Annan’s plan, which includes a political dialogue between the government and opponents but no direct call for Assad to step aside.
Lavrov said representatives of the Syrian opposition would visit Moscow soon, and Itar-Tass cited an unnamed diplomat in the Russian capital as saying Syria’s foreign minister would visit on April 10. (PTI)