MOSCOW, (SANA)_Russian President, Vladimir Putin,
called the international community to prevent extremists and international
terrorists from taking advantage of the tragedy unfolding in Syria for serving
their goals.
In a press conference following
talks with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in Moscow on Thursday, Putin
recalled the terrorist bombing outside the Russian embassy in Damascus a week
ago that claimed several lives, among them children.
”Such brutal operation should
have drawn a strong international condemnation,” Putin said.
He said that he had ”heated”
talks with his French counterpart on Syria, adding he believes that the French
president has “agreed to certain views we had proposed.”
”Despite the differences in the
Russian and French stances on the Syrian crisis, we call for preserving Syria as
an undivided democratic state,” said Putin, adding ”we have plenty of common
denominators in the general assessment of the situation there.”
”It is our duty to heed our
partners’ views on certain aspects in this intricate issue and think it over,”
Putin said.
Putin indicated that the French
president had formulated new proposals on the crisis, adding he believes they
might be discussed with all partners.
Putin recalled Russia’s firm
position in backing the legitimate government and combating terrorists and
extremists everywhere, indicating that Russia stands by France on this as it
supported Paris in Mali.
For his part, Hollande renewed
his country’s intransigent stand on Syria, affirming that ”France and Russia are
working in two parallel courses on settling the crisis in Syria which are
difficult to reconcile…but we can confirm a tangible progress was made as we
share the same goal of fighting terrorism and preventing the disintegration of
the country.”
He called for pushing ahead with
the political dialogue without wasting time, considering that his responsibility
lies in finding an exit route from the crisis.
Hollande said France considers
that the settlement in Syria is ”impossible in the context of cooperation with
President Bashar al-Assad,” although acknowledging that other sides consider
president al-Assad a representative of the Syrian people.
Churkin: Syria Will Be among Russia’s
Focal Issues during Its UNSC Presidency
In another context, Russia’s
Permanent Representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, stressed that the situation
in Syria will be among the focal issues which Moscow will focus on during its
rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in March.
Speaking to Russia Today TV,
Churkin pointed out that the Russian and American stances on the crisis in Syria
have converged to some extent, calling for following the path of dialogue to
solve this crisis.
He reaffirmed that Russia’s
stance is clear and simple as it believes in the need to halting the violence
and starting dialogue without preconditions based on Geneva Statement.
Churkin said that the
international community cannot solve the crisis in Syria without the Syrians
themselves.
“We can help them in getting out
of the crisis, and this is what Russia is doing by talking to the government and
the opposition,” he added.
Russia Committed to all
Arms Deals Signed with Syria
Russian Security Council
Secretary Nikolai Patrushev stressed on Thursday that Russia is committed to all
arms deals signed with Syria, reiterating his country’s concerns over the U.S.
plans in the field of anti-missiles defenses in Europe.
Meeting Head of the Polish
National Security Bureau, Stanisław Koziej, Patrushev said, “We have to
implement the deals that we have signed.”
M. Ismael F.L/M.E
Kerry in Turkey after Aid Vow to Syrian Militants
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Local Editor
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US Secretary of State John Kerry was due to discuss the
Syria crisis with Turkey's leaders on Friday in talks likely to be strained by
controversial comments by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan branding Zionism a
"crime against humanity."
The talks come a day after Washington announced that it would for the first
time provide direct aid to Syrian rebels in the form of food and medical
supplies as well as $60 million in extra assistance to the political
opposition.
The two-year civil war in neighboring Syria will top the agenda for Kerry,
who is due to meet with President Abdullah Gul, Erdogan and Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu.
But the talks are likely to be overshadowed by renewed tension between Turkey
and the Zionist entity, two major Washington allies, following comments Erdogan
made earlier this week at the UN-sponsored forum in Vienna.
"As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is inevitable that
Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity," Erdogan said.
His comments were dubbed as "a dark and mendacious statement," by Zionist
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while Washington strongly stated that
"characterization of Zionism as a crime against humanity... is offensive and
wrong."
Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has joined the west in its campaign to
oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and has given shelter to Syrian
militant opposition groups and to nearly 200,000 refugees along its volatile
border.
In January, the United States began deploying Patriot missiles, along with
Germany and the Netherlands, as part of a NATO mission to protect Turkey from
any spillover of the Syrian conflict.
Kerry was also due to attend a memorial ceremony in Ankara, in honor of the
US embassy guard who was killed in a February 1 suicide attack claimed by the
anti-US group the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKP-C.)
Among the issues on his agenda during the talks is also Washington's pressure
for increasing sanctions on Iran for its peaceful nuclear program.
Iran is Turkey's second-biggest natural gas supplier after Russia, and third
biggest in oil. |
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Source: AFP
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01-03-2013 - 18:38 Last updated 01-03-2013 - 18:54 |
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