Russia on Tuesday accused the West of seeking to “distort” the agreement reached last weekend in Geneva on a plan for a political transition to end the escalating conflict in Syria.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hailed the accord based on proposals by envoy Kofi Annan as an “important step” but said that Western capitals had already read more into the final statement than what was written on paper.
“Unfortunately… some Western participants have started in their public statements to distort the agreements that were reached” in Geneva, he told reporters at a news conference with his Vietnamese counterpart.
“These (Geneva) agreements are not there to be interpreted. They mean exactly what is said in the communique and we need to follow the agreements that were made,” Lavrov added.
“Our (Russian) position is honest and we are not trying to make it seem more than what is written in the text.”
His comments came just after Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi told reporters Tuesday that a “shift” in positions by Russia and its diplomatic ally China at the Geneva talks should not be underestimated.
