Russia Considers Ceasefire in Syria Priority

 

 

 

MOSCOW, (ST) — Moscow has considered the stop of violence in Syria as a priority to solve the crisis in Syria at the current stage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

“In a particular situation in Syria, like in any similar crisis situation in a certain state, one should see what the main task is at the particular moment. I deeply believe the most urgent task now is to stop the violence,” Lavrov told reporters after talks with his Swiss counterpart Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of  Foreign affairs.

“I really expect the truce the parties are trying to arrange during Eid al-adha to be observed,” he said.

According to Lavrov, Russia and Switzerland shared concerns over the situation in Syria and agreed that only political solutions would lead to the end of confrontation with minimal losses.

 Russia hopes Brahimi’s visit to Moscow would promote Syrian settlement

Russia hopes that a Moscow visit by United Nations Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi due on October 29 will promote the Syrian crisis settlement, Russia’s United Nations ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Wednesday.

“We are waiting for him in Moscow early next week,” he said. “We hope that the Moscow talks will make it possible for Russia to make another contribution to the settlement of the crisis in Syria.” He stressed that Russia “resolutely supports” Lakhdar Brahimi’s efforts.

On Tuesday, a diplomatic source told Itar-Tass that the United Nations will pay a one-day working visit to Moscow on October 29.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council called on all sides to accept Lkhdar Brahimi’s plan and agree to a ceasefire during the holiday of Eid al-Adha marked on October 26-29.

Churkin expressed satisfaction over the United Nations Security Council’s statement which, in his words, is based on a draft offered by the Russian delegation on Monday.

Earlier, Minister Lavrov,  described the UN Envoy to Syria, el-Akhdar al-Ibrahim’s, initiative for a cease fire in Syria during Eid al-Adha as ‘timely’ and ‘important’ and as an ‘important step towards a long-term ceasefire’, to launch a ‘political settlement process’.

In press statements on Monday, Minister Lavrov reiterated Russia’s support for an ”immediate end to violence in Syria” and for a ”peaceful settlement of the crisis without foreign interference”.

Minister Lavrov pointed out that some countries are interested in fueling violence in Syria as part of a “geopolitical remapping” of the Middle East, saying: ” “It appears that every time the hope for progress in the Syrian situation arises, somebody attempts to prevent it from calming down and deliberately fuels the continuation of the bloodshed and civil war in Syria,” interview with on Monday.

Interviewed by the Russian Rossiiskaya Gazeta, (Russian Gazette) yesterday, the veteran Foreign Minister of Russia disclosed that some opposing groups in Syria told the Russian side about some Western Countries’ urging of the opposition as not to accept dialogue and continue fighting against the Syrian Government.

Minister Lavrov underscored that the crisis in Syria is but “part of geopolitical remapping of the Middle East, where various players attempt to safeguard their interests.” And in the Syrian case, unfortunately, -at the expense of the Syrians’ blood-

Minister Lavrov hailed the role played by President Bashar Al-Assad, and described His Excellency as a “guarantor of the security of national minorities, among them Christians, who have been living in Syria for centuries.”

Minister Lavrov added: “By the most conservative estimates, our Western partners quote in confidential contacts, President Al-Assad still enjoys support of at least a third of citizens as a man who vowed to prevent Syria’s transformation into a state where minorities will be simply unable to live and exist,”

Minister Lavrov concluded that foreign ready-made “recipes” would never provide a long-lasting and reliable solution to the conflict in Syria.

Minister Lavrov, in the third part of his interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Minister Lavrov confirmed that Russia would seek clarity on the Turkish Authorities’ air piracy on a Syrian Airlines passenger plane.

Regarding Iran, Minister Lavrov repeated that there was not a single proof of Tehran seeking to make a nuclear bomb.

“Russia has been consistent in defending its point. As long as there is no real evidence that Iran is making nuclear weapons, no sanctions can be imposed on it. This contradicts international law. It’s very important for us to hold on to our position….there is absolutely no evidence that Iran has decided to include a military component in its nuclear program,”

 “We won’t allow any more such disingenuous interpretations. We will see to it that no resolution is open to interpretation like the one on Libya,” Lavrov underscored, asserting that his country would never allow the approval of an anti-Iran resolution at the UN Security Council.

The idea that Russia is losing influence in the Arab world as a result of the Arab Spring is “wishful thinking,” added Lavrov, asserting that “We disagree with such opinions because our relations with the majority of the region’s most influential countries have either retained their intensity or even deepened.

“No matter what happens, Russia would still be treated as a reliable partner and an important guarantor of geopolitical balance, just like it used to be in the past, when the region was freeing itself from colonial rule,” Lavrov added.

The challenge over the  success  of the initiative the  UN  envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi to stop the violence in Syria during the Eid al-Adha is not confined to the  consent of the UN Security Council; it is indeed the commitment of all regional and international parties to exercise their influence on armed groups to abide by the truce and halting violence”, said Russia ‘s  permanent representative to the UN  Vitaly Churkin, in a press conference on Wednesday,  at the UN headquarters .

“We are not surprised that some  armed groups refused to halt violence because many of them refuse to quit  armed violence,” noting that is why Russia calls on sides having influence on them  to stop providing them  with weapons and missiles. He added that Russia is urging “all regional and international actors to use their influence” to ensure the truce is implemented.”

He expressed Russia’s hope to implement the Eid-al-Adha  truce on the ground by the opposition and the government would reach a cessation of violence and the launching  of the political process that leads to a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Churkin said the statement issued by the Security Council is based on three elements:  Support  of  members of the  UN Security Council for Brahimi initiative,  dealing with urgent humanitarian issues the Syrians face and  opening up the atmosphere for a political settlement  to the crisis.

 

M. Daoud/ M.A. Al-Ibrahim