Russia to press Syria for democratic reformFebruary 5, 2012 - 16:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service Chief Mikhail Fradkov intend to persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to launch democratic reforms to stabilize the situation in the riot-hit Middle East country, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, Feb 5. The statement comes as Lavrov and Fradkov are setting for Damascus to hold talks with the Syrian president on February 7 after Russia and China blocked on Saturday the Morocco-proposed draft resolution on Syria that called on al-Assad to step down. “Russia, including in interaction with other countries, is firmly set to seek the quickest stabilization of the situation in Syria along the paths of the quickest implementation of long-overdue democratic transformations,” the ministry said in a statement. “For this purpose, on instruction of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service Chief Mikhail Fradkov will visit Damascus on February 7 to meet with President Bashar al-Assad.” Moscow also hopes that the Arab League Council of Foreign Ministers will take a decision at its meeting to extend the mission of Arab observers in Syria, the statement said. “We hope that during the expected discussion of the Syrian issue at a meeting of the League of Arab States Council of Foreign Ministers, a decision will be taken in the interests of the current moment to extend the mission of Arab observers, which has proved its efficiency as a factor of violence de-escalation,” the statement said, RIA Novosti reported. At least 5,400 people have been killed in the Syrian government's 11-month crackdown on protesters, according to the UN. Syrian authorities blame the violence on armed gangs affiliated with al-Qaeda and say more than 2,000 soldiers and police have been killed. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |