Lavrov Meets Assad: He's Committed to Ending Violence, Wants Arab Mission Enlarged
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Russia's foreign minister said after Damascus talks on Tuesday that President Bashar al-Assad was "fully committed" to ending the bloodshed in Syria even as regime tanks pounded the central city of Homs for a fourth straight day.
Sergei Lavrov said he had had a "very useful" meeting with Assad and that Moscow was eager to work towards a solution based on an Arab League plan that it had previously criticized.
"We (Russia) confirmed our readiness to act for a rapid solution to the crisis based on the plan put forward by the Arab League," said Lavrov, adding that Syria was also ready see an enlarged Arab League mission in the country, Russian news agencies said.
The pan-Arab bloc deployed an observer mission to Syria in December to oversee a plan to end bloodshed that has now lasted almost 11 months but suspended it late January after the mission's chief said that the violence had reached a new pitch of intensity.
The 22-nation League has since put forward a plan for Assad to hand his powers to Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa and a national unity government to oversee the preparation of democratic elections.
Sharaa, a veteran regime diplomat with a career that stretches back to the rule of Assad's late father president Hafez al-Assad, attended Tuesday's talks with Lavrov, the official SANA news agency said.
Lavrov did not specify which of the two Arab plans he was referring to in his comments Tuesday, although SANA interpreted him as referring to the earlier one.
Moscow had previously criticized foreign calls for Assad to step down but in an interview with Australian television last week Lavrov insisted: "We never said that President Assad remaining in power is the solution to the crisis."
After Tuesday's talks, he said he believed Damascus had heard Moscow's message but did not go into details.
Lavrov said Assad was ready for dialogue with all parties.
"It's clear that efforts to stop violence should be accompanied by the start of dialogue between all the political forces."
"Today we've received confirmation of President Assad's readiness to facilitate this work."
Lavrov said Syria was also pressing ahead with the slow-moving reform program promised by Assad in a series of speeches last year and would soon announce the timetable for a referendum on a new constitution to replace the current one which enshrines the leading role of his Baath party.
"In particular, President Assad assured (us) that he is fully committed to the task of a cessation of violence, from whatever source it comes."
Moscow is assuming that "efforts to solve the Syria crisis should be continued", said Lavrov.
"The Russian side intends to be actively engaged in this, including in the continuing work with the Syrian side, with Syria's neighbors and the Arab League," he added.
Later on Tuesday, Syria’s state news agency SANA quoted Assad as telling Lavrov that he remained committed to all efforts toward stability in his strife-torn country.
"The president reiterated Syria's willingness to cooperate with all efforts towards stability in Syria," SANA said.
It said that Assad in his meeting with Lavrov had thanked Moscow for its backing at the U.N. Security Council and for its keenness on dialogue to end the nearly 11-month crisis in Syria.
SANA said Assad and Lavrov had discussed the latest developments in Syria, reforms under way and what it said were attacks nationwide by "armed terrorist gangs" backed by outside forces.
"President Assad said that Syria from the start has welcomed any efforts toward a solution to the Syrian crisis and is committed to the Arab League plan that was decided on November 2, 2011," SANA said.
It added that Assad had fully cooperated with an Arab League observer mission to Syria last month despite what it called efforts at sabotage by certain Arab parties.
At the opening of the talks, Lavrov said he was confident that the Syrian leader knew what he had to do.
"Every leader in every country should be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours," the Russian minister said.
Syrian state news agency SANA said Lavrov arrived to a "huge popular reception in appreciation of Russia's support to Syria, people and its reform program."
State television aired footage of regime supporters waving Syrian and Russian flags as they lined the streets.
Many chanted: "Thank you Russia, thank you China," in reference to the two governments' use of their Security Council vetoes last week to block U.N. action against the Syrian regime.
The precise purpose of the Russian diplomatic mission has been kept tightly under wraps since it was first announced at the weekend.
Ahead of their arrival, reports had said Lavrov might try to persuade Assad to quit.
Human rights groups say more than 6,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the revolt mid-March. The U.N. Children's Fund, UNICEF, said at least 400 children have been killed.
Moscow sparked Western fury last week by joining Beijing in using its veto at the Security Council to block U.N. action against the Damascus regime.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it a "travesty."
Beijing expressed hope Lavrov's visit would succeed, and said it was considering sending its own envoys to help resolve the conflict.
Syria's main Middle East ally, Iran was also to dispatch a deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to Damascus on Tuesday, its official IRNA news agency said.
Turkey, which shared Western anger over the Russian and Chinese vetoes, said it would launch a "new initiative" with like-minded countries which "stand by the Syrian people, not the regime."
A day after the United States closed its Damascus embassy, France, Italy, Spain and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council joined Britain and Belgium in recalling their ambassadors to Syria for consultations.
The GCC states also expelled the Syrian ambassadors from their capitals.
But the European Union stressed it had no plans to close its own mission in the Syrian capital.
07 February 2012, 12:56
28
Mooowaten, are you scared yet? Because once the free syrian army is done with ASSad, they're coming for you and your metweli friends...
07 February 2012, 13:44
13
He is there to assertively tell him " Sort yourself out and start today..Otherwise..You are on your own"
Russia and China cannot sustain this for long as they will loose the Majority of Arabs in addition to Europe and America...Their trade markets will be highly impacted.Sooner or later they will abandon this loosing regime...Iran is up to it's neck with economical problems...Soon the Iranian people will revolt in protest against Iranian foreign policies depriving the Iranian from the country's rich resources.
07 February 2012, 13:48
16
Fradkov to Assad: Step down, we can't keep supporting you in the UN, you are embarrassing us.
Assad to Fradkov: Help me please, can I got live in Russia?
Fradkov to Assad: are you an idiot? you want the terrorist to bomb Russia?
07 February 2012, 14:24
03
the popovs and especially lavrov are not stupid, they are very cautious and calculating financially their steps, lets see if they can hold in damascus more than in afghanistan with the late babrak karmal
07 February 2012, 14:30
63
Go Russiaa ! hehe at least they dont bow down to Saudi and Israeli interests - unlike the USA.
I dont support Assad but i dont support the Muslim Brotherhood that is trying to take over syria under the false CIA flag of 'freedom' and i dont support Israel, or Saudi arabia, or Iran.
Lebanon should not get involved in Syria at all!! Stay out for our own sakes!
07 February 2012, 16:22
02
Assad was fully committed to ending the bloodshed...
I fully beleive that he do...the only problem is WHEN.
Lavrov thinks Assad meant it is going to stop now...Assad think that it is eventually going to stop once all opposition have been slaughtered.
See they both truely agree on the goal, but there is a small difference on how they see it acheived.
07 February 2012, 16:43
42
the filthy zionist media terrorists got aroused because they hallucinate that russian FM came to ask assad to step down.
they got so manical that they repeat their posts for many times.
07 February 2012, 16:45
32
Lebanon should not get involved in Syria at all, agreed.
BTW I am a big fan of A-lManar and it's very entertaining unintentionally comedic programing. But lately something in their nightly new have been nagging at me. You see almost every night we are regaled with fiery over the top speeches from Resistance MPs and officials screaming at us the usual rhetoric while attending funerals of a resistance "martyr". That got me thinking, how did all those Resistance saints become martyrs when the Resistance they belong to is not involved in a active war with anyone at least not in the country they claim to be the Resistance of. As they involved in wars outside the country? What do the officials of the Resistance tell the families of the "martyrs", where did they fall? Where was Abbass, Ali, Hassan martyred, in what country? In Syria, in Iraq, in Tajikistan, in Afghanistan, in Argentina, in Germany, where? Does anyone know, maybe mowaten, or cedar or the filthy jabalhabal of cookiethrower?
07 February 2012, 17:09
22
Mowatem: just to enlighten you: metwali comes from متوالي الى علي .
so this is not an insult: it is a fact :)
07 February 2012, 18:43
20
lemme guess mowaten your mammy was the concubine of Nikita Khrushchev and told you all about how the Russian will bury the West and you believed, well keep believing brother keep believing better fools than you believed and lost. But you know, better to have believed and lost than never to have believed at all wooohoohahaha!!!
07 February 2012, 19:05
21
The following dialogue went on between the two parties:
R: We are ashamed of you because you only scored an average of 60 kiiling per day. We in Russia did 150 per day and were still not satisfied.
S: We are sorry to disppaoint you sir but if you ship for us weapons we wil try to increase the dose to 100 but would never reach you because the terrorists are well armed.
R: We the totalitarian regimes are becoming extint and we need to keep ourselves in shape; meaning killing and killing endlessly.
S: i am very happy to hear that sir. We will do that forever.
R; I will say that you will initiate change in the press - you know I don't mean it.
S: I know that because you and I are bullshitting everyone with our skewed logic.
R: Good night now, I am getting tired. And don'y forget to kill more.
S: Yes sir.
07 February 2012, 20:15
11
Mowaten, since when do the russians support the right people anyway? you are too young, go read about the russian support for the dictator of aghanistan, najib allah, and see how he ended. Najib alla also had a revolution against him, the people of afghanistan lost 1 million but at the end he was hanged in the square and the USSR was finished. If you think lavrov or hasan nasrala or or can finish the revolution of millions of syrians, you are patheticaly mistaken lol. You are just a walad in politics thats all :)
07 February 2012, 20:20
11
The problem mowaten simply put is that the sunis in the arab world are ten times the she3as and in civil wars the numbers always win. Look at your country lebanon, were the maronites able to keep their dictatorship? similarly the she3a dictator in da7iye will also come to an end, it is simply artificial, no one can rule lebanon and there has to be a consensus. Lavrov is just a dawa a7mar for assad but bashar is an idiot. The russians know at the end bashar and his cronies will have to be sacrificied, they are prolonging his life hoping to get the right price, the americans are not gona give the russians anything because they know time is not on the assad side: bad economy, defection, political isolation are all ingredients for regime collapse versus time. Was nasralah right when he said" syria passed the danger zone" lol hahahaa... you need to quit listening to sheikhs my friend and start listening to reason.
07 February 2012, 20:30
11
The CIA in afghanistan helped the rebels win against the USSR (not russia) lol, go read some history; however, the CIA are not involved, and the americans do not want to arm the rebels kermal israel. You really think Mr. Mowaten that israel wants bashar out? if that was the case do you really think the US will wait for security council for 11 months? think again my friend. The US wants the family out but the regime intact for fear of chaos that israel does not want at all. You gotta learn to be objective. At the end the people will win, all this only means that it will take them longer, the end is a mathematical certiainty.
07 February 2012, 20:39
11
Another addition to the ME7WAR MUMANA3a according to the logic of hasan nasrala is lavrov and putin (oh and also malki who came on US tanks..but thats alright, he is from our sect lol) hahahaa
07 February 2012, 21:51
11
The Russian people should know that their dictatorial minded leaders have chosen to side with evil by their latest UNSC veto.
The Syrian events might not seem important to the average Russian but the foreign policy alignments of the Putin controlled government are a return to the former Soviet Union's practices which are setting back the democratic process in Russia and will ultimately lead to a new form of an isolated totalitarianism.
08 February 2012, 00:32
00
Lavrov went to see Assad to learn how to crush the Russian protestors when they get strong enough to want to overthrow the Russian dictator.
08 February 2012, 04:36
10
the filthy zionist media terrorists are spitting on russia with huge hate because russia supports assad regime.
08 February 2012, 05:46
01
well now the united states is the shitan al akbar in the eyes of most arabs the russian and the chinese are .
08 February 2012, 05:46
01
well now the united states is the shitan al akbar in the eyes of most arabs the russian and the chinese are .
08 February 2012, 10:54
00
Too little too late for Assad.
The Russians are trying to save what little they have left in the middle east, or to make a good deal out of it.
In all cases the US is commited to create muslim brotherhood regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria to face the expanding Iranian influence in the Middle East(Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain).
All actions are economically driven: influence in the middle east means oil and markets. Show me the money!!!
08 February 2012, 15:05
00
the member of zionist media terrorist made a dirtect threat against patriotic lebanese. (mohamad ca).
and naharnet didn't react.
i would like to say to the lowlife scum mohamad ca: please come. bring your zionist masters with you.
