Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev slammed as “unacceptable” the recognition and support by France and other states of the Syrian opposition battling the regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
Britain and France have joined Turkey and Gulf states in recognising a newly formed opposition bloc as the sole representative of the Syrian people. Paris has also suggested arming the opposition fighters.
Medvedev echoed Putin’s statements that Russia takes a neutral stance and is not seeking to prop up Al Assad, saying that “Russia supports neither [the] Al Assad’s regime nor the opposition”.
“But ... the question is how right it is to ... decide to support another political force if that political force is in direct confrontation with the officially recognised government of another country. And from the point of view of international law, it seems to me that is absolutely unacceptable.”
“A desire to change the political regime of another state by recognising a political force as the sole carrier of sovereignty seems to me to be not completely civilised,” he added.
France was the first Western state to recognise the newly-formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.
Paris has also raised the idea of excluding defensive weapons for the rebels from the current blanket EU embargo on Syria.
“Let the Syrian people decide the personal fate of [Al] Assad and his regime,” said Medvedev. It is preferable if they [the opposition forces] came to power legally and not because of deliveries of arms from other countries,” he said.
Russia and France have been sharply at odds over Syria during a conflict activists say has killed more than 38,000 people since protests began in March 2011. France and other Western states have criticised Russia for vetoing three UN Security Council resolutions aimed to pressure Al Assad.
With input from agencies
