Lavrov: US Military Aid to Syrian Rebels Further Escalate Regional Tensions
Local Editor
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the US military aid to Syrian rebels may lead to further escalation of violence in the country.
In a phone call to US Secretary of State John Kerry, Lavrov discussed the "situation in Syria in the context of Washington's plans to render military aid to the Syrian opposition."
"Lavrov stressed that such a move could further escalate tensions in the region, while US accusations of chemical weapons use by Damascus are not supported by reliable facts," the statement by the foreign ministry mentioned.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin's senior foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said on Friday, "The Americans tried to present us with information on the use of chemical weapons by the regime, but frankly we thought that it was not convincing."
He further stated, "we wouldn't like to invoke references to the famous lab tube that [former US] Secretary of State [Colin] Powell showed, but the facts don't look convincing in our eyes."
Powell had brought a model vial, which he said looked like Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's weaponized anthrax, in a bid to convince members of the UN Security Council that they should agree to invade Iraq. Of course, such allegations turned to be false later on, and weapons of mass destruction did not exist in Iraq.
"Of course, this will not help in the preparation of the international conference, if the Americans actually initiate larger-scale support of the rebels," he said.
In parallel, the Russian official said expanded US military support for armed groups would undermine joint efforts to organize a peace conference.
Earlier on, the Chairman of the Russian Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Pushkov, said the US accusations on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian authorities are "fabricated" and "distorted".
Pushkov added that the information about the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons has been concocted in a similar fashion as lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
"Information about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government's has been fabricated in the same place as the lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," Pushkov said.
Source: News Agencies, edited by website team
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