16.11, 20:00 The foreign ministers of the Arab League, consisting of 22 members, have confirmed the suspension of Syria from the group, blaming it for the violent suppression of anti-government rallies.
Arab world protests
15.11, 15:49 As violence continues unabated in this Arab Republic, members of the Syrian opposition are telling Russian diplomats they are against any foreign military intervention in the settlement of their country's conflict.
Syria unrest
15.11, 10:45 Syrian opposition leaders said that they want to prevent any military intervention in Syria and avoid a Libyan scenario. The statement comes during their visit to Moscow as pressure piles on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Syria unrest
14.11, 23:44 Syria is becoming increasingly isolated with its neighbors turning their backs on it. Some believe that the Arab League and especially the Gulf states are doing the bidding of the West by putting more pressure on Damascus.
Syria unrest
14.11, 17:02 The “illegitimate” decision to suspend Syria from the Arab League has received wide support from the EU and the US. Russia, however, has strongly opposed the measure, which is starting to look like another step on the road to a Libya-style scenario.
Arab world protests Syria unrestAs massive pro-Assad demonstrations continue across Syria, Damascus has called for an emergency meeting of Arab League heads of state in an apparent attempt to avert its suspension from the regional bloc.
Syria unrest //Published: 17 November, 2011, 07:09
Syrians wave national flags as they rally in central Damascus on November 16, 2011. (AFP Photo/Louai Beshara )(53.7Mb) embed videoTo include this chart in your web page, paste the following HTML tag into your web page HTML: TAGS: Conflict, Military, Russia, Politics, Kevin Owen, Opposition, Syria
Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”
Kosachev told RT that the opposition has visited Russia recently.
“We had rather a good discussion in Moscow – nobody else does the same thing. People either support this or that part. We are impartial, we have dialogue with each side, and hopefully we will succeed in promoting further political process there.”
The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma believes that targeting Damascus is counterproductive to solving the crisis in Syria, while, he notes, the situation is getting more and more alarming.
“For me the fact that the violence is escalating is a reflection of the wrong approach taken by certain states, a unilateral approach, when they keep saying to the people of Syria that ‘You, people, are right, and the authorities are wrong’. This is a wrong approach, because that type of messages introduces an illusion that, the people of Syria can get freedom and democracy by using violence against the ruling authorities and not by negotiations.”
According to Kosachev, the message being sent to the Syrian authorities and the Syrian people by Russia is “much more appropriate.”
The sanctions by the Arab League and the West are based on the argument that Damascus is cracking down on peaceful demonstrators. But Damascus says it is fighting the Free Syrian Army, which is apparently well-armed and coordinated, and is staging a full-on assault on the regime. As for Russia’s view on the way the Free Syrian Army are conducting themselves, there are certain “questions” to them concerning this, as the Russian lawmaker points out.
“We do have questions because we can see they use heavy weapons, they are well equipped, so it is not just about throwing stones at policemen or bodyguards – this is about using heavy weapons and this is a real war. And for Russia the most important thing is to prevent further casualties and victims, and the only way to do that is to maintain the political process once again. I believe that Russia, the US and the EU, the Arab League and anybody else is to send the only message to all conflicting sides in the country – that is to try and speak to each other.”
Today: 01:10 With the credibility of an IAEA report on Iran’s secretive nuclear activity being questioned, some experts say the Iranian people should ask their government why their country is still a member of the UN nuclear agency.
Today: 10:37 Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York have returned to the epicenter of the movement, Zuccotti Park, but without their tents and sleeping bags. Massive rallies are expected to resume throughout the United States.
Occupy Wall Street
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