News

Latest News

Imprisoning Democracy

Have your say


Newspaper


Back to index

Russia: Turkish plane downing "not premeditated"

27-06-2012

Russia on Tuesday said it was important that the shooting down of a Turkish plane was not viewed as a provocative act, as it confirmed its foreign minister would attend a conference on the Syria crisis.

"We think it is important that what happened is not viewed as a provocation or a premeditated action," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Earlier it was confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would attend a meeting on the escalating conflict in Syria that international mediator Kofi Annan is attempting to organize in Geneva this weekend.

"Sergei Lavrov has officially accepted the invitation to come to the actual meeting in Geneva on Saturday, June 30," Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Syria. "We attach great importance to this meeting."

Annan's deputy Nasser al-Kidwa was briefing the 15-nation council by video-link on Annan's attempts to prevent the total collapse of his moribund six-point peace plan.

Diplomats said it was not entirely clear that the meeting of the five permanent Security Council members and key regional players scheduled for Saturday will take place.

Annan has said that Iran should attend, but diplomats say the United States, Saudi Arabia and others dislike that idea.

Several Western diplomats said there was no agreement on what the value of the meeting would be. But Churkin made clear that Moscow expected the Saturday meeting to go ahead.

"I hope other planned participants are going to be there as well," Churkin said. "We hope it can provide powerful impetus for political efforts to put an end to the conflict."

So far Annan's attempts to get the opposition and government to begin a dialogue aimed at ending the 16-month conflict have failed.

Annan has said that a "contact group" of the permanent council members and regional players could pressure the Syrian government and opposition to begin political negotiations.

One diplomat inside the council chamber told Reuters that Kidwa said "it's essential states with influence agree themselves on principles and guidelines to support a Syrian-led political transition."

(Al-Akhbar, AFP)


http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/russia-says-turkish-plane-downing-not-premeditated

Email this story to a friend | Printable Version

 

Latest News


Other News from Middle East section


News and Views of Muslims in the United Kingdom