RUSSIA: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's special adviser on Syria, Fred Hof, visits the Russian Foreign Ministry for talks on Syria

Record ID: 280931

  • Title: RUSSIA: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's special adviser on Syria, Fred Hof, visits the Russian Foreign Ministry for talks on Syria
  • Date: 9th June 2012
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JUNE 8, 2012) (REUTERS) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON'S SPECIAL ADVISER ON SYRIA, FRED HOF AND U.S. AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA MICHAEL MCFAUL GETTING OUT OF CAR RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SIGN HOF AND MCFAUL ENTERING RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY BUILDING FLAG AND SIGN ON BUILDING VARIOUS OF U.S. EMBASSY CARS NEAR ENTRAN
  • Embargoed: 24th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Conflict,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABILXH9QNJVN9K9EEP5OX87SVB
  • Story Text: U.S. Department top official Fred Hof was in Moscow on Friday (June 8) for talks on the Syrian crisis, after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the Security Council on Thursday (June 7) that a full-blown civil war in was "imminent" in the country.
    The Syrian opposition and Western and Gulf nations who are seeking to ouster President Bashar al-Assad, increasingly see the international mediator, Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan as doomed, because of Syria's consistent use of military force to crush militarized opposition.
    Western Security Council diplomats said the message from Annan and Ban at the United Nations was clear -it was time to hit Assad's government with sanctions.
    Both Ban and Annan strongly condemned a reported massacre of at least 78 people in Mazraat al-Qubeir on Wednesday (June 6) and acknowledged that Annan's peace plan was not working.
    Russia said earlier it would accept a Yemen-style power transition in Syria if it so decided by the Syrian people, the latest statement seemingly aimed at distancing the Kremlin from Assad.
    The United States is seeking Russia's support in getting Assad to step aside but Russian deputy foreign minister said on Thursday (June 7) the president's fate was "not a question for us" but for the Syrian people.
    Moscow has used its U.N. Security Council veto and other tools to protect Assad, who has given Russia a firm foothold in the Middle East and is a buyer of Russian weapons.
    The Kremlin's position has shielded him from condemnation by the council and parried Western and Arab efforts to push him from power.
    U.S. President Barack Obama told G8 nations including Russia last month that Assad must leave power and pointed to Yemen as a model for a potential transition.
    Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh ceded power in February to a transitional administration led by his vice president after a year of mass protests against his autocratic rule and increasing armed anarchy.
    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Western and Arab nations meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday that a transition strategy in Syria must include Assad's full transfer of power, a senior State Department official said.
    Clinton has sent Fred Hof, a senior State Department official who works on Syria, to Moscow.
    The senior U.S. official suggested Clinton was trying to lay down minimum benchmarks for how a Syrian transition could unfold with the hope that Russia might back it.
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