MOSCOW, July 13 (Itar-Tass) —— Moscow condemned the mass killing of Syrians outside Hama and called for an investigation of the crime, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday, July 13.
“Moscow was anguished to learn about a new mass killing of peaceful Syrian citizens who were shot point blank on July 12 by unidentified monsters in one of the villages on the outskirts of Hama. Some 50 to 100 people fell victim to the massacre. As before in Houla and al-Qubeir, the parties to the internal conflict in Syria blamed each other,” he said.
“We strongly condemn this bloody atrocity and express our sincere solidarity with the people of Syria. We believe it is extremely necessary for all parties to stop the bloodshed and armed violence against the peaceful population immediately,” Lukashevich said.
He noted the fact that the Hama massacre had occurred during a serious discussion in the U.N. Security Council on the draft resolutions, submitted by Russia and Western countries, which extend the mandate of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria that expires on July 21.
“Without anticipating the results of the investigation of the crime, on which we insist, we would like stress that we have no doubt that this atrocity benefits the forces that seek no peace but obstinately keep trying to grow the seeds of inter-confessional strife and civil conflict in Syria, and those for whom the grief and suffering of the Syrian people mean nothing. In order to put an end to such tragic incidents, it is necessary to fulfil obligations that require all parties, including external players, to facilitate peaceful settlement in Syria on the basis of the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the Syrian Crisis, Kofi Annan’s plan,” Lukashevich said.