Russian, German officials against arming Syrian rebels

Source : Voice of Russia

Russia is concerned with the intention of several Western countries to arm the Syrian opposition, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov says.

In his Twitter blog, Mr. Gatilov wrote that arming the Syrian rebels contradicts the same countries’ statements that they want stability in Syria.

Earlier, Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on European countries not to arm the Syrian opposition. Otherwise, there will be a threat that the conflict in Syria may spread to other countries, Mr. Westerwelle believes.

This was Mr. Westerwelle’s reaction to a statement of his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, who said on Thursday that if the EU does not lift the embargo on supplies of weapons to Syria, France and the UK will arm the Syrian opposition on a unilateral basis.

Voice of Russia, TASS, RIA

Russia calls for 2nd meeting of Action Group on Syria

Source : Xinhua

MOSCOW, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Moscow believed the Action Group on Syria should convene for another meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.

"Russia confirms the need of the Action Group on Syria to convene for a second Geneva meeting," the senior diplomat said in his Twitter account.

Russia has had two tripartite meetings with the United States and the UN-Arab League joint envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, and was ready to meet in any format in the future with relevant parties, Gatilov told local media.

Russia's goal was to implement initiatives agreed by world powers last June in the Geneva meeting, according to Gatilov.

The Geneva Communique envisages a Syrian-led transition which includes the formation of a transitional government composed of representatives of the government and the opposition.

Earlier this week, Brahimi urged the UN Security Council to take action to end the ongoing Syria crisis by implementing the Geneva Communique.

More than 60,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since unrest broke out in Syria in early 2011. The conflict, which has shown signs of escalation in recent months, has left more than 4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.