RUSSIA: Russia's Foreign Ministry welcomes the mission of Kofi Annan but says the ball is in the court of the Syrian opposition that so far makes impossible and excessive demands

Record ID: 735360

  • Title: RUSSIA: Russia's Foreign Ministry welcomes the mission of Kofi Annan but says the ball is in the court of the Syrian opposition that so far makes impossible and excessive demands
  • Date: 28th March 2012
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 27, 2012) (REUTERS) INTERIOR OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY RUSSIAN COAT OF ARMS ON BUILDING FACADE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH TAKING SEAT JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH, SAYING: "From the very beginning we've been supporting the mission of the U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. We think that this mission has a good chance for success, obviously with a condition that all parties in Syria, both the government and the opposition forces, immediately stop the military confrontation." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH, SAYING: "With the help and the support of the contacts that the Russian side has, with (our) influence and opportunities to work with the Syrian leadership, there came a positive attitude by the Damascus authorities to this mission (of Kofi Annan)." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH, SAYING: "Now the question lies in another matter: how will the opposing side look at all this. So far we see a reverse effect, and all the public statements that (head of the Syrian National Council) Mr. Ghalioun and a number of other opposition figures make do not at all signal that such dialogue will begin shortly." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH, SAYING: "(Syrian opposition statements) rather impose impossible and excessive demands of the resignation of the current leadership as the condition for the pan-Syrian dialogue to begin. From the outset we've been stating that such position is absolutely destructive, it cannot lead to seizing opportunities to begin the pan-Syrian dialogue." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ALEXANDER LUKASHEVICH, SAYING: "We do not think that such groups (like Friends of Syria) should or even can work out a consolidated position of the international community. It's rather the opposite: they act destructively, destroying the rhythm of those positive developments which we relate to Mr. Annan's mission." JOURNALISTS END OF NEWS BRIEFING, LUKASHEVICH STANDING UP
  • Embargoed: 12th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6LTCN7TJFIVEKZ86XE7Y6Z4DZ
  • Story Text: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich praised at a news briefing on Tuesday (March 27) the mission of U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan but said the onus is now on the Syrian opposition that must show its commitment to the dialogue.
    Kofi Annan visited Moscow on Sunday and Monday (March 25-26) to hold talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
    "From the very beginning we've been supporting the mission of the U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. We think that this mission has a good chance for success, obviously with a condition that all parties in Syria, both the government and the opposition forces, immediately stop the military confrontation," Alexander Lukashevich said.
    On Tuesday Annan arrived in Beijing on the second leg of a trip designed to shore up support for his peace mission from the two nations that have been the strongest backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a year of bloodshed.
    Russia and China have shielded Assad from U.N. Security Council condemnation by vetoing two Western-backed resolutions over the bloodshed, in which the United Nations says government forces have killed more than 8,000 people.
    However, both countries approved a non-binding Security Council statement last week endorsing Annan's mission.
    On Tuesday Annan's spokesman said that Syria had accepted a ceasefire and peace plan drawn up by the U.N. and Arab League special envoy, even as Syrian troops thrust into Lebanon to battle rebels who had taken refuge there.
    The Russian Foreign Ministry underlined this breakthrough had been achieved with Russia's help.
    "With the help and the support of the contacts that the Russian side has, with (our) influence and opportunities to work with the Syrian leadership, there came a positive attitude by the Damascus authorities to this mission (of Kofi Annan)," Lukashevich said at the briefing.
    Russia now insists the ball is in the court of the Syrian opposition.
    "Now the question lies in another matter: how will the opposing side look at all this. So far we see a reverse effect, and all the public statements that (head of the Syrian National Council) Mr. Ghalioun and a number of other opposition figures make do not at all signal that such dialogue will begin shortly," Alexander Lukashevich said.
    Kofi Annan's plan crucially does not insist on Assad stepping down right now - unlike previous plans which Moscow and Beijing vetoed at the Security Council. Arab leaders were expected to endorse it later this week at a Baghdad summit. Russia says resignation demands are "impossible".
    "(Syrian opposition statements) rather impose impossible and excessive demands of the resignation of the current leadership as the condition for the pan-Syrian dialogue to begin. From the outset we've been stating that such position is absolutely destructive, it cannot lead to seizing opportunities to begin the pan-Syrian dialogue," Lukashevich said.
    Western and Arab leaders are due to meet in Istanbul on April 1 to discuss a political transition and the Arab League and Turkey were pressing various wings of the Syrian opposition gathered in the city to try to unite. That meeting, known as the "Friends of Syria" meeting, will happen without Russia's participation.
    "We do not think that such groups (like Friends of Syria) should or even can work out a consolidated position of the international community. It's rather the opposite: they act destructively, destroying the rhythm of those positive developments which we relate to Mr. Annan's mission," Lukashevich said.
    Syria is Russia's firmest foothold in the Middle East, buying billions of dollars worth of weapons and hosting a Mediterranean supply and maintenance facility that is Russia's only naval base outside the former Soviet Union.
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