Our position is not to support al-Assad or someone else in a particular conflict, including in relation to the situation in Syria. It is based on a deep concern for the fate of the Syrian people and their nation, the desire to prevent the collapse of the Syrian state, which is based on a rather complex ethnic and religious structure, and prevent the Syrian events from affecting the whole region. This region is bound to suffer if the so-called "Libyan model" is put in practice. This "model" has brought and continues to bring untold sufferings to the Libyans, and their neighbours. The reverberations of this crisis will be felt far beyond the borders of this state. Libya has yet to strengthen its central government, and until it does so, citizens of foreign countries will suffer in Libya, including Russian citizens, like the professionals convicted for an unreasonably long term. Just recently, a Russian member of the International Criminal Court, together with other officials of the ICC, was detained, despite the fact that the UN Security Council Resolution 1970 stipulates that the Libyan leadership shall fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court and respect all its privileges and immunities. It is obvious that the resolution is being violated. We are convinced that the UN Security Council must give its response.
Our position, which does not differ from the position of the UN Security Council, is as follows: we insist on the need to comply with all the provisions of the Kofi Annan plan by all the Syrian sides without exceptions, as well as by other states. Now the plan is being violated, and a certain alleviation, which occurred after the truce was announced in April, is now being undermined by the repetitive attempts to provoke violence. Military facilities are being captured. Recently, militants captured an air defense unit in the suburbs of Homs, and only after a few hours the regular troops were able to oust them. Attacks on schools, hospitals, administrative buildings, not to mention the police and the military, are being carried out on a regular basis. Therefore, violence must be stopped by the both sides. But if a part of the international community interprets the Kofi Annan plan as the demand for Russia to get the Syrian leadership to stop shooting, I declare with all responsibility that this attempt is a provocation. The other side must also stop.
Russia’s proposal to convene an international conference presupposes inviting all key external players to the first stage of the talks. If the idea is implemented, the Syrians will join later. But in the beginning, it is necessary that all the key players who influence the Syrian sides take part in the conference. Some of them have greater influence on the government of Syria, others - on one part of the opposition, yet other ones – on the other part. The purpose of this format (we expect about fifteen participants) – is to hear honest pledges of support of the Annan plan and willingness to assist in its implementation from all. But this requires that each of these external players should use their influence over this or that the Syrian side, forcing the Syrians to cease all violence, as required by the Special Envoy plan and the UN Security Council Resolution. Then all of them would sit at the table and start negotiations on the basis of the Annan plan which presupposes beginning of a political dialogue between the Government of Syria and all the opposition groups. It is only necessary to check whether all the key external players are sincere when they talk about the full support of Kofi Annan's plan. Some of them start saying that the plan does not work. It is no good that it does not work as it should, but as a rule, the ones who talk about it are those who are pushing the uncompromising opposition to continue armed provocations. We want to convene the international conference to second words with deeds on the Kofi Annan plan.
Let me emphasise once again that we are primarily talking about the need to achieve unity among all key external players based on their active commitment to finally follow through the Special Envoy plan engaging both Syrian government, and the opposition.
Question (addressed to US Secretary of State John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov): After your recent discussions, including on Syria and the episode of detention of a US Embassy official in Moscow on a charge of espionage, do you think that your collective work is constructive? Sergey Lavrov (answers after John Kerry): Regarding the incident of the detention of a US Embassy official in Moscow that you have mentioned, everything, that the Russian party wished to say about it, was said yesterday in the comment of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. I have nothing to add.
Dear Mr Chairman,Dear colleagues, friends, First of all, I would like to thank our Swedish hosts for their hospitality, good organization of the today’s meeting and to congratulate Mr Carl Bildt with the results that were reached by the Arctic Council under Swedish chairmanship.
Today we sign the second in history legally binding panarctic document – Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic. This is another evidence of high responsibility of Arctic countries for the state of affairs in the region. The next is the preparation of the Agreement on Marine Oil Spill Prevention.
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