Russia: Syria has started observing peace plan
Apr 3, 2012 11:20:29 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Apr 3, 2012 11:20:29 GMT -5
Russia: Syria has started observing peace plan
MOSCOW (AP) – The Syrian government said it has begun implementing a U.N. envoy's peace plan that requires it to withdraw its forces from towns and cities within a week, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.
Syrians wave revolutionary flags and chant slogans at a Monday night protest against President Bashar Assad in a neighborhood of Damascus.
Russia has a keen interest in seeing Kofi Annan's plan succeed, given Moscow's role as Assad's key ally. Moscow has thrown its support behind Annan, the joint U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, and urged Damascus to quickly comply with his proposal.
The plan gives an April 10 deadline for troops to pull out.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Riad Haddad, the Syrian ambassador to Moscow, told Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov that Damascus had begun fulfiilling its obligations under the plan. The statement didn't say which, if any, troops had been withdrawn or provide other details.
Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Assad from U.N. sanctions over his crackdown on an opposition uprising in which more than 9,000 people are believed to have been killed.
The statement comes a day after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Assad to take the first step toward settling the country's conflict and criticized him for being too slow and not radical enough at reforms.
The ministry said Bogdanov expressed Moscow's satisfaction with the Syrian government's decision, and emphasized the need for the Syrian opposition to follow suit.
"It was noted that the Syrian opposition and its armed groups need to take reciprocal actions, including a clear confirmation of their adherence to Annan's plan and practical action toward implementing it," the statement said.
www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-04-03/syria-diplomacy/53968764/1
MOSCOW (AP) – The Syrian government said it has begun implementing a U.N. envoy's peace plan that requires it to withdraw its forces from towns and cities within a week, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.
Syrians wave revolutionary flags and chant slogans at a Monday night protest against President Bashar Assad in a neighborhood of Damascus.
Russia has a keen interest in seeing Kofi Annan's plan succeed, given Moscow's role as Assad's key ally. Moscow has thrown its support behind Annan, the joint U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, and urged Damascus to quickly comply with his proposal.
The plan gives an April 10 deadline for troops to pull out.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Riad Haddad, the Syrian ambassador to Moscow, told Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov that Damascus had begun fulfiilling its obligations under the plan. The statement didn't say which, if any, troops had been withdrawn or provide other details.
Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Assad from U.N. sanctions over his crackdown on an opposition uprising in which more than 9,000 people are believed to have been killed.
The statement comes a day after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Assad to take the first step toward settling the country's conflict and criticized him for being too slow and not radical enough at reforms.
The ministry said Bogdanov expressed Moscow's satisfaction with the Syrian government's decision, and emphasized the need for the Syrian opposition to follow suit.
"It was noted that the Syrian opposition and its armed groups need to take reciprocal actions, including a clear confirmation of their adherence to Annan's plan and practical action toward implementing it," the statement said.
www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-04-03/syria-diplomacy/53968764/1
