Lavrov Says Syria Ceasefire Needed before Peacekeeping Mission
Russia said on Monday that a ceasefire needed to be established in Syria before a joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping mission could be deployed in the violence-wracked nation.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was studying a new Arab League initiative for the body to form a joint peacekeeping force with the United Nations, adding that Moscow had questions about certain points.
"We are studying this initiative and expect our friends from the Arab states to provide us with a clarification of certain points," Lavrov said after talks with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan.
"In order to deploy a peacekeeping mission, you need the agreement of the receiving side," Lavrov said.
"In other words, you need to agree something resembling a ceasefire. But the problem is that the armed groups that are fighting the Syrian regime do not answer to anyone and are not controlled by anyone."
The Arab League said Sunday it had agreed to open contacts with Syria's opposition and ask the United Nations to form a joint peacekeeping force to the nation.
The move was swiftly denounced by Syria.
Russia and China used their veto power this month to block a Western-Arab Security Council resolution condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime for the violence.
Source: Agence France Presse
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