TURKEY: Syrian National Coalition spokesman, Khaled Saleh, urges Russia to stop sending arms to President Bashar al-Assad's government

Record ID: 276535

  • Title: TURKEY: Syrian National Coalition spokesman, Khaled Saleh, urges Russia to stop sending arms to President Bashar al-Assad's government
  • Date: 13th September 2013
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 13, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN NATIONAL COALITION SPOKESMAN, KHALED SALEH, BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) SYRIAN NATIONAL COALITION SPOKESMAN, KHALED SALEH, SAYING: "We've always said that we are open to a negotiated political solution, however, we wish that Mr. Lavrov would really push his long term ally to sit at the negotiat
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA35FRW7ONJA86RSQIOCUTNOP4P
  • Story Text: Syrian National Coalition urged Russia on Friday (September 13) to stop sending arms shipments to President Bashar al-Assad's government in the hope of finding a diplomatic solution for the Syrian crisis.

    "If Russia is really interested about finding a real political solution they must hold all weapon shipments that they are sending to the Assad regime on weekly basis. Those weapons are being used to kill civilians," Saleh told Reuters.
    Saleh spoke as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met the United Nations special envoy on Syria in Geneva on Friday as they worked on a deal that could avert U.S. military action.
    Lakhdar Brahimi, who acts for both the world body and the Arab League, met Kerry and Lavrov together. He has been trying to broker a political solution to the Syrian civil war. The two powers are trying to flesh out Moscow's plan to dispose of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons.
    Kerry and Lavrov began the high-stakes talks on Thursday (September 12) as part of a diplomatic push that prompted President Barack Obama to put on hold his plans for U.S. air strikes in response to a chemical weapons attack on civilians near Damascus on Aug. 21.
    The United States and its allies say Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces carried out the attack with sarin nerve gas that killed about 1,400 people, including 400 children.
    Russia and Assad blame rebel forces.
    The talks comes as the United Nations said it received a document from Syria on joining the global anti-chemical weapons treaty, a move Assad promised as part of a deal to avoid U.S. air strikes.
    But Saleh expressed doubts Assad's regime will keep its promises.

    "They've continuously said that they did not have any chemical weapons. We don't believe that they are serious. They continued to kill civilians using conventional weapons and we believe that they will even continue in chemical weapons. They have nothing to stop them," he said.
    Assad told Russian state television in an interview broadcast on Thursday he would finalise plans to abandon his chemical arsenal only when the United States stops threatening to attack him.
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