Attendants of the G8 summit in Lough Erne have spoken for a non-military solution of the Syrian conflict. The communiqué the 8 leaders will pass will have no points on resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, although British Prime Minister David Cameron said that he did not see Assad as the state leader in the future.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that demands for resignation of Assad would ruin the political balance. Such initiatives should not be dictated by foreign states, he says.
The communiqué states that the G8 leaders support organization of the Geneva-2 conference for Syria for realization of the Geneva Communiqué signed on June 30, 2012. French President Francois Hollande is opposed to Iran’s participation in the conference due to election of new President Hassan Rouhani.
Ryabkov added that the US and EU were not working hard enough to persuade opposition for negotiations in Syria.
According to the final document, the US and France were less concerned with use of chemical weapons in Syria. Russia says that facts of using such weapons by the Syrian army had no evidence. Moscow called for an expertise by the World Healthcare Organization and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The issue should be considered by the UNSC.
Russia and western states found no common grounds on shipments of weapons to Syria. Russia has contracts with Syria that need to be fulfilled. The EU and US plan to supply Syrian opposition with weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin reminded that the UK had initiated signing of a treaty to stop sales of weapons to nongovernmental structures.
