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Saturday, June 9, 2012

Russia for peace plan and against sanction on Syria

Russia has called for a multi nation meeting on Syria on Saturday, saying sanctions or military intervention would "only aggravate the already difficult atmosphere"."Our logic is that it is not necessary now to apply additional pressure, to introduce sanctions or use the threat of force," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday that Moscow is proposing an international conference on Syria to try to persuade all Syrian opposition groups to respect Annan's plan, end all violence and sit down for talks.

Two recent massacres in Syria in as many weeks have deepened doubts a U.N.-backed peace plan can work.Thus Western states threatened to impose sanctions.To which Gatilov said,"Introducing restrictive or forceful measures clearly will not foster (peace) and will only aggravate the already difficult atmosphere".
Russia says a better way to make the peace plan work is to hold a meeting of nations and groups with influence on Assad's government or its foes, a proposal Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Wednesday.
Lavrov was to hold a news conference later on Saturday about the initiative which has already run into a snag in the form of U.S. opposition to include Iran.
Hillary Clinton said on it was "hard to imagine inviting a country that is stage-managing the Assad regime's assault on its people."Gatilov said Iran had a "full right" to participate and that its influence on Syria meant it could play a "constructive role in seeking ways to resolve the Syrian conflict."
Gatilov told there was no "fundamental difference" between Russia's initiative and a proposal Annan has floated for a "contact group" on Syria that would also include Iran as well as other regional players.Russia says it is not out to protect Assad but that his fate is up to Syrians themselves, not foreign countries or the U.N. Security Council, and that his exit cannot be a precondition for a political process in Syria.