Russian Prime Minister defends stance on Syria

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Russian Prime Minister defends stance on Syria

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Syria is Russia's last remaining ally in the Middle East.

02 March,2012 12:02 pm

Russias Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday strongly criticized the West for backing the Syrian opposition against the government, saying it has fueled the conflict.Putin said both the Syrian government and opposition forces must pull out of the cities to end the bloodshed, adding that Western refusal to make that demand of the opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad has encouraged them to keep fighting.Do they want Assad to pull out his forces so the opposition moves right in? Putin said at a meeting with editors of top Western newspapers in remarks carried by state television. Is it a balanced approach?Putin refused to speculate on Assads chance to hold on to power, saying that reforms in Syria have been long overdue and its unclear whether the government and the opposition could find a consensus.Syria is Russias last remaining ally in the Middle East. Moscow has maintained close ties with Damascus since the Cold War, when Syria was led by the current leaders father, Hafez Assad.Putin insisted that Russias opposition to the United Nations resolution condemning Assad is rooted not in its economic interests, but a desire to help end hostilities.He defended last months Russia-China veto of a U.N. resolution condemning Assads crackdown on protests, saying that Moscow wants to prevent the replay of what happened in Libya, where a NATO air campaign helped Libyans oust Moammar Gadhafi.Putin said that while Gadhafis regime was crazy, its ouster led to massive killings of civilians. He said Russia wants the parties to the conflict in Syria to find a consensus and stop killing each other.Instead of encouraging parties to the conflict, its necessary to force them to sit down for talks and begin political procedures and political reforms that would be acceptable for all participants in the conflict, he said.