Moscow’s top diplomat was holding talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday after being cheered on his arrival in Damascus by thousands of regime supporters who took to the streets to “thank” Russia, state media reported.
The precise purpose of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit has been kept tightly under wraps since it was first announced at the weekend. He is accompanied by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov. “Every leader in every country should be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours,” Lavrov said to Assad as they kicked off the talks, according to English-language reports by Russian news agencies. “We hope that the Arab people can live in peace and understanding,” the Russian envoy added.
Syrian state news agency SANA said in English that the foreign minister arrived in Damascus “amid huge popular reception in appreciation of Russia’s support to Syria, people and its reform programme.” “Huge crowds flocked to … greet Minister Lavrov and express appreciation of Russia’s stances,” it said. State television showed footage of a sea of regime supporters waving Syrian and Russian flags as they lined the streets of the capital, many chanting: “Thank you Russia, thank you China.”
“I want to thank Russia and China for their stand in support of the Syrian people,” one woman said, before crowds swarmed to greet Lavrov’s convoy. Lavrov’s trip comes days after Russia disgusted the West and Syrian opposition activists Saturday by vetoing along with China a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Assad regime’s crackdown on protesters. The foreign ministry said on Sunday the trip aimed to stabilise the escalating crisis in Syria by winning the “rapid implementation of much-needed democratic reforms” by the Assad regime. The mission is taking place on the orders of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian state media have said Lavrov is bearing a message from the Kremlin for Assad.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Lavrov refused to divulge the purpose of the mission.
“When you go on a mission on the order of the head of state then the purpose of the mission is usually only revealed to the person it is addressed to. If I tell you everything now, then what is the point?” he said. Russia has so far offered no clues on the role to be played by Fradkov, who heads an ultra-secret organisation that is the successor to the KGB. Facing intense anger from the West over the use of Russia’s veto, Lavrov on Monday hit back by saying that the reactions from Western capitals were “indecent and bordering on hysteria.”
21 civilians killed in fresh violence
At least 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed on Tuesday in violence across Syria, the majority of them in the flashpoint central city of Homs, activists said. “At least nine civilians, including a woman, were killed by gunfire and shelling as (troops) attempt an assault on the Khaldiyeh neighbourhood of the city,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement. The Britain-based group said four Syrian troops were killed in the assault on Khaldiyeh, while six other civilians were killed in shelling of the Baba Amr neighborhood.
