Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned yesterday that international support for Syrian rebels would lead to “more blood” and the government could not be expected to willingly give in to its opponents.
Lavrov, whose country has vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions intended to increase pressure on Syria’s government to end 16 months of violence, said Western and Arab nations should exert more influence on rebels to stop fighting.
He said “tragedy” could be imminent in the Syrian city of Aleppo, but indicated rebels would be at least partly to blame.
“Pressure must be put on everyone,” Lavrov said at a joint news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba after talks in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, President Vladimir Putin’s summer base.
“Unfortunately, our Western partners prefer to do something a bit different and essentially, along with some countries neighbouring Syria, encourage,     support and direct the armed fight against the regime,” he said.
“The price of all this is still more blood.”
In the wake of the Security Council vetoes by Russia and China, the United States has said it will seek ways to tackle the crisis outside the UN.
Gemba said it was “very serious moment” in Syria and it was primarily up to the government to stop the bloodshed. — Reuters