Russia reaffirms support for Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/179780.html

Russia has reaffirmed its support for Syria and has asked the international community to abstain from interfering in the internal affairs of that country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow supports and stands by Syria in international forums, adding that the situation in Syria is completely different than the recent uprisings in certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

There is concrete evidence that the opposition in Syria has used force right from the beginning, which has claimed the lives of many civilians and security forces, the Russian foreign minister said he said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Moskovskie Novosti published on Friday.

The facts indicate that the opposition was well armed, he added, but did not elaborate.

The UN Human Rights Council narrowly approved a statement, sponsored by the United States, on April 30, criticizing Syria's response to the recent unrest.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an independent investigation and said that the Syrian authorities have an obligation to respect human rights.

In this connection, Lavrov said that Moscow sees no grounds for any UN resolution on Syria, since the Syrian protesters were belligerent from the beginning of the unrest in March.

He noted that Russia and more than half of the UN Security Council members opposed the draft statement condemning Syria.

Russia will carefully examine any new proposals on interference in the internal affairs of any country, taking into account Libya's regretful experience, he added.