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Decision to suspend Syria’s LAS membership wrong

The minister recalled that the Syrians had invited observers from the LAS

KHABAROVSK, November 14 (Itar-Tass) — Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a decision on suspending Syria’s membership in the League of Arab States (LAS) will deprive of the opportunity to make the situation transparent.

Meeting told journalists on Monday on the way to Honolulu, Lavrov said he considered the decision to suspend Syria’s membership in the LAS “wrong”.

The minister recalled that the Syrians had invited observers from the LAS. “Those who took this decision deprived of the opportunity to make the situation in Syria transparent,” Lavrov pointed out.

“In any case the presence of LAS observers would play a stabilising and quieting role. Unfortunately, by examining all facts I must say anyone wants Syrians not to close to each other,” Lavrov stressed.

The suspension of Syria’s membership in the LAS looks as it would be planned earlier. “We gave advice as friends in order to speed up the reforms. Basher al-Assad approved a lot of important laws and created a committee, which dealt with the constitutional reform, including on ending the monopoly of the Ba’ath Party,” the minister said.

“Both the opposition and our Syrian and American colleagues said openly he [Bashar al-Assad] did nothing. It’s wrong. Unfortunately, the Syrian leadership made many mistakes. One of them is the leadership’s unwillingness to open the country for any mass media,” Lavrov said.

“The problem is that the opposition gives up any contacts with the regime,” he added.

“By telling like it is, there are facts of direct incitement of the radical opposition to pursue a firm towards replacing the regime and give up any proposals to start a dialogue,” Lavrov stressed.

At the same time, the minister noted that Russia “is trying to convince the Syrian opposition to be wiser”.

“We will have consultations with representatives of the Syrian opposition in Moscow on November 15,” Lavrov said.

“We continue our efforts. Head of the Syrian National Council Burhan Ghalioun will be in Moscow on November 15. He leads one of the opposition groups, which take the most intransigent attitude towards the regime [of Bashar al-Assad]. We will try to convince this group to be wiser,” the Russian minister said.

“We will try to inform them about our concerns because the struggle for power is often becoming goals in, but it is necessary to think of the country and of the people,” Lavrov stressed.

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