Speaking to Argentine newspaper Clarin and Telam news agency in Damascus, Assad said that “believing that a political conference will stop terrorism on the ground is unreal.”Washington and Moscow have been at odds since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, but are now aiming to find common ground as they push for talks to take place between Assad’s regime and the opposition. If the efforts are successful, there are hopes that talks could take place at the end of this month and could lead to a multilateral summit.“We welcome the Russian-US rapprochement and hope that an international meeting will take place to help the Syrians overcome the crisis ,” he said. “But we don’t think that a lot of Western nations really want to see a solution in Syria. And we don’t think that those many forces that help the terrorists want a solution to the crisis.”As world powers lock horns over the Syrian conflict, Assad stressed that foreign states will not act as decision-makers in the crisis and any decision about reform in Syria will come from within.He also reassured that he will not forsake his duty or his responsibilities. “The captain does not flee his ship during a storm. The first thing he does is face the storm and guide the ship back to safety,” Assad said. “I am not someone who flees from my responsibilities.”The president stated once again that he was open to dialogue, maintaining that he wanted what was best for the Syrian people. However he underlined that there would be no dialogue with terrorists.“Terrorism struck the United States and Europe – of course no government is willing to negotiate with terrorists. A dialogue with political force, but not with a terrorist who decapitates, murders and uses toxic gases which are chemical weapons,” he stated.Syrian leader stressed that foreign states will not act as decision-makers when it comes to Syrian reforms. He specifically addressed US Secretary of State John Kerry, who stated that Assad could play a major role in achieving peace by stepping down.“I wonder how Kerry or anyone else has received a mandate from the Syrian people to decide whether someone should stay or go. Any decision about reforms in Syria will come from Syria, and neither the US nor any other state can intervene,” he stated.The Syrian civil war has been raging for more than two years now, with more than 80,000 people killed, according to UN estimates. … Read More
US ‘unaware’ of Russian missile shipments to Syria – State Department
According to State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki, the alleged arms deliveries reported in a New York Times article on Thursday had been already been detailed in 2011.“These specific missiles, the Yakhont anti-ship missile, was reported in December of 2011, and I believe in the same report there was a reference to SA-17s, which was previously reported in April 2012,” she said. “We’ve consistently raised concerns, as I mentioned, but it seems that these cases that were reported this morning have been previously reported.” When asked if Syria has recently received any weapons from Russia, Psaki said that “we’re not aware of new shipments.” The spokeswoman stressed that the US would oppose any transfer of weapons or assistance to the forces of Bashar Assad, but added that the recent reports in the media won’t hamper the joint effort of Washington and Moscow to stage a peace conference on Syria. “Of course there are concerns at the same time simultaneously about any aid being provided to the regime, and that remains the case,” Psaki said. “But we can still move forward on the track towards the conference because we share a commitment to moving toward a political transition, and that has been the case.” On Friday Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that he doesn’t understand, why the media is trying “to make a sensation” out of Russian arms shipments to Damascus.“We don’t hide the fact that we’re supplying weapons to Syria in accordance with previously signed contracts, without violating any international agreements or our own weapon export control legislation, one of the strictest in the world,” he stressed.“We supply defensive weapons, air defense systems. It doesn’t break the balance of power in the region and doesn’t create advantages in the fight against the opposition.”Russia has underlined on numerous occasions any supplies to Syria are according to old contracts, many of which originated during the Soviet-era. The supplied weapons are tied to missile-defense and are unlikely to be renewed after their completion.The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, has been quick to criticize Russia after the report in the New York Times, saying that the alleged Russian missiles would see president Assad feeling a lot safer if it comes to any Western intervention.Israel also hurried to blame Russia, expressing their concerns that the arms may end up in the hands of Hezbollah militants. The civil war between the governmental forces of President Bashar Assad and Western-backed rebels has been raging in Syria for over two years, with over 70,000 lives lost in the conflict. Russia and the US are currently working together to hold a conference to facilitate a solution to the Syrian crisis through political dialog, which is expected to take place in the Swiss city of Geneva in June. … Read More
Cameron dismissing UN’s finding on chemical weapons in Syria ‘completely out of step’
Cameron’s claims came on the eve of his trip to the capital of the 2014 Winter Games – Sochi, where he was in talks with President Vladimir Putin. RT contributor Afshin Rattansi, who also thinks that Britain has been backing chemical weapon use in the Middle East, expressed the hope that the Russian leader would at least try to have London reconsider its support for the Syrian insurgency, as Washington and Moscow earlier agreed to join their efforts in mediating peace in Syria.RT: How does the UK hope to benefit from contradicting the findings of the UN committee that found evidence of Syrian rebels using chemical weapons?Afshin Rattansi: It’s especially outrageous of the British PM to just dismiss Colonel Ponti and the commission’s view into who was using chemical weapons and when in the Syrian conflict. The fact that David Cameron can do this shows him completely out of step. After all it was him, who’s been trying to lift the arms embargo for the rebels and never considered any idea of talk process, a kind of process that was aside from all the fighting and killing and slaughter. And yet John Kerry and Vladimir Putin seem to have come to an agreement, that: yes of course – they have to talk instead of all these killings.RT: What would be the consequences for the region if the UK’s proposals are accepted and the EU removes the weapons embargo on Syria?AR: David Cameron has been being very quick to just refute everything in the report without any prior information. As to the arms embargo, France’s FM Laurence Fabius is also saying that the embargo should be lifted, but also that Al-Nusra should be considered a terrorist organization by the EU, which of course it is now considered in the United States. And at the same time the very rebels, that are being sent the so-called non-lethal force and equipment and materials – they are defecting to Al-Nusra, according to a report in British papers. If Britain has been exporting, say, night-vision goggles to the Syrian rebels and they used them in the sarin gas attack, as indicated by Colonel Ponti’s report, does that mean Britain has been backing the chemical weapon use in the Middle East?RT: US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that any political solution to the unrest in Syria must involve President Bashar Assad stepping down. Would this facilitate a transition to a new government or worsen the situation in Syria?AR: I have to say it’s surprising, that the Obama administration seems to realize finally, that Jaw-Jaw is better than war-war. There are obviously advisers close to President Obama, saying that no matter how much you want a war with Syria, no matter how you would please Jewish lobby in Washington, the people of the United States don’t want another war with American troops involved in Middle East. So, perhaps, that’s the reason behind it.But you are right. There seems to be a problem here, a mismatch. The talks between the parties in the Syrian situation – they should just get talking, because they have to work on a venue and so forth, but it’s a victory of sorts for Beijing and Moscow to, at least, get the United States in line to see that they are continuing attempts to destabilizing the Middle East are not going to work.And we also have to realize that in the last 24 hours Sheikh Nasrallah of Hezbollah has said, that any more Israeli air strikes will be met by the Syrian government and the Hezbollah movement, which is the only movement that’s been victorious against the Israelis. … Read More
No new Russian weapons contracts with Syria – Lavrov
“Russia does not plan to sell,” Lavrov told reporters. He stressed that Russia has only been fulfilling contracts that have already been signed with Syria for defensive weapons.DETAILS TO FOLLOW … Read More
Syria ready for UN to investigate chemical arms
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Syria has agreed to receive a United Nations team to investigate claims of the use of chemical weapons in the country’s conflict. That is according to its deputy Foreign Minister, Faisal Muqdad.
The Syrian government first asked for the inquiry shortly after accusing opposition rebels of using chemical weapons at Khan al-Assal near Aleppo on March 23, in an attack in which authorities said more than 30 people died.
Muqdad’s permission for the UN investigation comes after Israel reportedly targeted military sites near the capital Damascus early on Friday morning and again early on Sunday morning, with at least 42 soldiers said to have been killed in the second strike.
Meanwhile Syria mediator, Lakhdar Brahimi, has agreed to stay on in his role despite threatening to quit several times over his frustration at the international deadlock that has prevented UN action to halt the two-year-old civil war.
More about: Chemicals, Syria, United Nations, Weapons
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UK says no proof Syrian rebels used chemical weapons
“Our assessment is that chemical weapons use in Syria is very likely to have been initiated by the regime. We have no evidence to date of opposition use,” Prime Minister Cameron said. The remarks came a day before Cameron’s trip to the Russian city of Sochi for talks with President Vladimir Putin, in which the issue of Syria will be at the forefront.Cameron’s statement comes after a UK draft proposal sent to EU diplomats on Tuesday calling for the arms embargo on Syria to be lifted so that weapons could be sent to rebel forces.Citing the “rapidly deteriorating” situation in the country, the six-page document calls for the Syrian opposition to be exempt from the arms embargo and for the phrase “non-lethal aid” to be removed from the wording of the sanctions currently in place. The changes would pave the way for weapons to be supplied to Syrian opposition forces.‘Assad must go’ The US has also intensified its rhetoric against embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement saying that Assad would have to resign the presidency as part of any political solution to the country’s two-year-long conflict.”The foreign minister will work with us, as they have, to try to bring all the parties to the table so that we can effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides,” Kerry said, adding that this meant “President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government.”Kerry also revealed that another $100 million in aid will be supplied for the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled the country since the uprising against Assad began.Kerry was in Moscow earlier this week where he met with Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss Syria. Both countries expressed their commitment to the Geneva Communiqué, which was agreed upon last year. However, the two nations have been at loggerheads over their interpretations of the document.The Obama Administration believes that as part of the accord Assad should step down, while Russia insists he is an integral part of the solution to the conflict, and that removing him would only worsen the situation. Moscow also decried the idea of arming the opposition, and is pushing for all sides in the conflict to come to the negotiating table.“Arming non-governmental players violates international law,” Lavrov said last week. “It’s not the time to pour oil on the fire of the Syrian conflict. For all outside players it’s time to push all parties.”The Syrian conflict has shown no signs of relenting, despite the efforts of the international community. According to UN estimates, over 70,000 Syrians have been killed since the unrest began over two years ago. … Read More
