MOSCOW, April 9 (Itar-Tass) —— Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will arrive in Moscow on Monday to inform the Russian leadership on Damascus’s fulfilment of six clauses of UN and LAS special envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan. The date of the negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on April 10 coincides with the deadline, before which the Syrian government is to withdraw the troops and heavy military hardware from the Syrian cities and settlements. According to Annan’s road map, all parties to the conflict should stop the violence completely in the country by 07:00 Moscow time on April 12.
However, some mediators, which are actively involved in the Syrian settlement, prefer to forget that the appeal of the UN and LAS special envoy to stop the bloodshed is addressed to the rebels as well. The United States and France questioned Damascus’s fulfilment of Annan’s peace plan and the success of the mission of the former UN general secretary in general. It is clear that the information war continues against Bashar Assad’s rule, but its instigators sooner deal a blow on the interests of the Syrian people, criticizing sharply the authorities.
Meanwhile, Russia stated repeatedly that each minute of Syrian confrontation claims human lives. The government bears all responsibility for the current standoff, but the violence can be stopped only on the mutual basis, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
“Russia continues its fundamental policy of securing an early end to bloodshed and a peace settlement in Syria without foreign intervention,” the deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry information and press department, Maria Zakharova, said. “Our approaches are objective and balanced, which enables us to work with Damascus, where the Russian position evokes gratitude and profound respect, and with the oppositional groups, whose leaders are aware of the important and crucial role Russia plays in the Middle East.”
Moscow is not in the habit of making friends with some to the detriment of others, the country proceeds from the need to promote the search for ways of letting the Syrians themselves overcome the crisis in Syria, and it demonstrates in reality its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of that country and the high goals and principles of the UN Charter,” she said.
Russia protects the adherence to the UN ideals and values, modern international law, which were outlined after a horrible Second World War, rather than concrete rules. Experts recalled that the Syrian dossier is actually a litmus test pointing to the system of international relations being in crisis.
On Sunday, Damascus’s demands for written guarantees from the opposition to lay down arms escalated the situation, otherwise, the governmental troops will not be withdrawn from the flashpoints. In retaliation, the rebels claimed that they will give guarantees only to the international community, but not Assad’s rule. The concerns of the Syrian government are quite grounded, the oppositionists do not hesitate to stage terrorist acts sometimes.
Since the Arab Spring came on the Syrian soil more than a year passed. However, despite the political calendar the so-called ‘spring’ dragged out for too long. Now there emerged the real possibility to stop the crisis and launch an all-round political dialogue in Syria.