Russia’s Lavrov says Syria “on the verge of civil conflict”

PanARMENIAN.Net - The situation in Syria is teetering on the brink of full-fledged civil conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday, June 9, RIA Novosti reported.

“It looks like Syria is on the brink of civil conflict,” Lavrov said.

At least 9,000 people have been killed in clashes between the government and opposition forces in Syria since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad regime last year, according to UN estimates.

UN special envoy Kofi Annan said on Thursday his six-point peace plan aimed to stop violence in Syria, where clashes between the authorities and opposition have killed thousands of civilians since last March, is "not being implemented." Annan warned of an escalating crisis and laid responsibility for the atrocities on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Disruptions in the implementation of Annan’s peace plan are to be blamed on the uncoordinated measures taken by outside forces, Lavrov said.

The presence of a group of UN observers also had little impact on the situation in Syria.

“Not only the Syrian government is responsible for what’s going on now, the crisis is also to be blamed on the actions of those people who have not stopped giving money to illegal armed groups, hire mercenaries, help transfer them abroad and flirt with extremists to reach their own goals,” Lavrov said.

He said Moscow has enough information proving that outside forces are in control of the actions of the Syrian opposition. “We have enough data that they [internal forces] supply arms and other vital items to the opposition.”

The way the world is in future depends on the outcome of the Syrian crisis, the minister said. China and Russia have twice blocked UN condemnations and punitive actions against al-Assad’s regime. Lavrov stressed that there are no grounds for Russia to change its stance on Syria.