Putin: Syria’s Massacre, Arming Opposition Must be Stopped

Local Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the crisis in Syria has become "a massacre" and that it must be stopped through peace talks between the government and the opposition.

"What is going on is a massacre, this is a disaster, a catastrophe," Putin said. "It has to be stopped."
Speaking to the German ARD television in remarks released by the Kremlin on Friday, he rejected the Western criticism of Russia for its continuing supply of weapons to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Putin said that such shipments don't violate international law, and he criticized those who send weapons to the Syrian opposition.
He called for an immediate cessation of violence in Syria and urged all sides to sit at the dialogue table.
Answering a question on Russian weapon shipments to Syria, Putin said that there is no embargo on supplying countries with weapons.

"The Syrian opposition acquired 3.5 tons of weapons lately through the airports of Syria's neighboring countries only, according to the Washington Post, that what should be stopped," he mentioned.
"Our western partners suggest that the Syrian President must leave and then we can think of what to do; that is wrong. Libya, for example, is fragmenting into three states. All sides must sit at the dialogue table to discuss the future status of the country.

Putin said that peace talks should spell out the future of Syria and provide guarantees to all parties.
"We reached an agreement on Syria in Geneva, but unfortunately our western partners moved away from it, again." Putin added, and noted that "when they say that al-Assad is fighting against his own people, we need to remember that this is the armed part of the opposition."
"Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to bring everyone to the negotiation table so that all warring parties could reach an agreement on how their interests will be protected and in which way they will participate in the future governance of the country," he said. "And then they will work together on the implementation of this plan with due guarantees of the international community."

He said that French President Francois Hollande offered "some interesting ideas that can be implemented" on his February's visit to Moscow, but added that it will require some diplomatic work.
"We are ready to support these ideas," Putin said without elaboration. "We need to try and put them into practice."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org