Lavrov Says ‘Russia Doesn’t Support Syria Government’, Hague Warns of ‘Civil War’
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Russia said on Monday it did not support the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad but urged world powers to work for the peace plan of U.N. envoy Kofi Annan and not regime change.
"We do not support the Syrian government. We support the plan of Kofi Annan," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with his British counterpart William Hague.
But he added that world powers had to "play the game of fulfilling the Kofi Annan plan and not the game of regime change."
Hague for his part warned there will be "chaos and civil war" if the Annan plan is not implemented.
Their meeting came after The New York Times reported the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is considering working with Russia on a plan for Assad's departure under a proposal modeled on the transition in Yemen.
Lavrov did not make any direct comment on the report but made clear that Russia's priority was not "who is in power" in Syria but ending the violence.
"We are deeply worried that the Annan plan is being implemented unsatisfactorily. We are still far from our goals," Lavrov said.
Russia had earlier joined other U.N. Security Council powers in condemning the Syrian government for using artillery in a massacre in the town of Houla that left 108 people dead, many of them children, and 300 injured.
Britain and France had proposed a U.N. statement making an even stronger condemnation of the Assad government but this was rejected by Russia.
In contrast to the West's placing of the blame for the massacre on the Syrian government, Lavrov said Moscow believed both the regime and the armed opposition shared the blame.
"Here we have a situation where both sides clearly had a hand in the fact that peaceful citizens were killed," he said.
Hague had called on Russia ahead of his trip to use its leverage with the Assad regime and Lavrov said: "We are putting pressure on the Syrian government on an almost daily basis.
28 May 2012, 13:23
111
in other words: the cost of supporting the assad regime is getting higher and higher, but they are working on a solution that keeps the face of the russian bear without favouring the return of islamists.the good news:lebanon is safe.
28 May 2012, 13:50
28
Walla I think you're right. Even the Russians are getting tired of him.
29 May 2012, 02:57
35
mowaten,
Here goes that silly argument again: Assad has "nothing to win by doing it," therefore someone else must have killed these children. This is the same song you and your clique sang about the murder of Hariri and other Lebanese patriots. 'we have nothing to win.' Well, actually they (and you) think there is something to gain. It is called intimidation by fear.
In the idiotic brutal mind of Assad, Hezbollah and other brutal organizations, they think they can win by butchering their opponents in the hope of silencing the populous. it happens quite often, and it really doesn't take a genius to figure this out. I also learned from watching the Syrian regime blunders throughout its history to never underestimate the brutality and the stupidity of the Assad regime.
28 May 2012, 13:39
811
Assad should not be allowed to leave like Saleh in Yemen was. He should be made to pay for all what his father, Kanaan, Ghazali, Chawkat, Maher, and Bassel have done to Lebanon. Including himself. Khadafi died too quickly. I hope he doesn't.
Arm the opposition, and there will be no civil war ! They will overrun the baath and shabiba killers, and sort them out. At least they will be at par to fight their case with those murderers in power.
28 May 2012, 14:38
43
What will he say to the world watching 108 innocent people dead? he can't say I support one group versus the other because both sides are stating that their opponent did it. What he is missing to realize is that despite the fact that the world is split on supporting one group versus the other in Syria, his Russian government on the ground continues to supply arms to the current regime and does in fact break the Koffi Annan initiative same as the other side that is being supplied by arms to defend itself against the ruthlessness of Assad cronies.
28 May 2012, 19:56
03
All the Russians care about now is to have an access to the Mediterranean, and Tartous is the only port where they are still welcomed.. They initially tried to negociate this but the Europeans ands the US have been against it. Maybe this time around they have come to an agreement? In any case it looks like Assad is f*cked and it is about bloody time!
28 May 2012, 21:05
10
People who think they know better just because they have kindergarten notions of geopolitics, tonight use street talking to sound cool; they are not cool. If Russians wanted to keep Tartous military base for the next thousand years they would have sold Bashar a long time ago. Russians are challenging US supremacy "just because": they have reasons aplenty (Georgia, Afghanistan, missiles, Libya). Just because if you mess around with pure power and intimidation policy, another superpower comes around to let you know that, sorry, they are still in business. Cheers..
28 May 2012, 22:30
10
MOwaten, you are such a racist mujrim, this is who you are, who believes that the rebels of the town of houla killed their own women and children at close range??? from what planet of evil are your likes from?? if you think you are muslim then you are not, you sound just like the jewish zionists who kill the palestenians and call them terrorists, no fucking difference, none! you have no drop of humanity in your blood, none, just hate, racism and if bashar used chemical weapons tomorrow you will say the victims committed suicide, you have no morals, absolutely none.
29 May 2012, 05:53
00
Every person in the current regime responsible for the security of the country should be impeached, accusing terrorists is by itself an admittance of failure to protect citizens which means you cannot run a Country. Step down and let anyone else run the country because it can't get worse than it is now.
29 May 2012, 08:27
10
mowaten is not Lebanese i already proved this a few months back. Take my flag off your avatar
