Consul General of Russian Federation Andrey V Demidov has said that the Russian government does not support any specific regime in Syria or elsewhere.
Expressing his views during a press conference at the Russian Consulate, Karachi, the consul general said that Russia supported the cause of peace and peaceful reconciliation in Syria.
Demidov said the internal conflict in Syria was already in focus for a long time because of the world media. He said that the Russian Federation, being one of the major international political players, had its own principled position on the issue. “We strongly believe that problem existing in that country should be settled by peaceful means at the negation table. But at the same time we are very much concerned that Russia’s position on the issue has been, time and again, seriously distorted,” he maintained. Demidov said further that they were well aware of the propaganda war which had been launched against them in connection with this issue.
While refusing allegations by some politicians and journalists, Demidov said that Russia did not support the regime of Basharal Asad. “We support the cause of peace and peaceful reconciliation in the country,” he said. The consul general added further that the Russian authorities had already twice invited the Syrian opposition to Moscow for talks, in which both parties (Russia and Syrian opposition) had agreed on many points on the agenda.
He also said that some of their western partners wished to bring about the fall of the present regime in Damacus because some countries wanted to start an open foreign military intervention in Syria the way the did in Libya.
Demidov also maintained that Russian position on the issue was not to have a second edition of intervention as seen in Libya. “We wish to see Syria as a prosperous and democratic country. But democracy can not be imposed from outside; it must always be grown at home,” he said.
He was of the opinion that only a political dialogue between the government of Syria and its opposition could bring peace there.
Demidov further said that Russia did not accept unilateral sanctions adopted by NATO and EU. “We call upon these organizations to lift sanction that will bring about nothing.
“Our western partners demand that we change our position on the Syrian issue, but why only our position is to be changed, and in what direction?” Demidov questioned.
He said the USA claimed that people in Syria were being killed because of Russia’s blocking of a draft resolution in the Security Council of the UN. Demidov said that if adopted those documents could pave the way to foreign intervention in Syria. He further emphasized that foreign military intervention would result in more human losses, additional refugees, and a total aggravation of the situation. He suspected that foreign intervention could also result in spreading the conflict. “Syria’s civil war has already exacerbated sectarian strife in Lebanon and in Iraq; it can also inflame tension between Kurds and Turkes,” he concluded.
