Turkey asks Russia to mount Syria pressure

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has asked Russia to put more pressure on Syria to implement the cease-fire that was to have gone into effect April 12 in accordance with a plan by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Davutoğlu met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday in Brussels, and the two foreign ministers discussed the state of affairs in Syria since the cease-fire. “I asked him to deliver the message to Damascus that the ceasefire is not fully implemented. Implementation of the ceasefire is of vital importance,” Davutoğlu told reporters travelling with him on a train from Brussels to Paris.

Lavrov said Damascus was complaining about the opposition’s efforts to sabotage the ceasefire, Davutoğlu said. He told Lavrov he would stay in touch and share information on developments on the ground. “I told Lavrov that stability in Syria benefits both Turkey and Russia. That’s why we have supported al-Assad in the past. We thought he could maintain stability in Syria. But now he is posing a risk for Syrian and regional stability.”