Russia's stance on Syria unflinching: Lavrov
"The Russian position is well-known and is not subject to any time-serving fluctuations,” Lavrov said in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in Moscow on Monday.
The Russian foreign minister rejected any foreign military intervention in Syria, stressing the peaceful settlement of the crisis in the Arab country.
“No alternative to a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria exists, moreover, no military solution related with a foreign intervention exists,” Lavrov added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Lavrov said that the foreign-backed Syrian opposition must attend the proposed upcoming Geneva conference, which aims to find a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria, without preconditions.
On May 7, the Russian foreign minister and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed in the Russian capital, Moscow, to convene an international conference on Syria, which will serve as a follow-up to an earlier Geneva meeting held in June 2012.
“We will continue to foster the Russian-US initiative of the convocation of the Geneva-2 conference. We will continue to insist on the definitive agreement of the Syrian opposition to attend without preconditions and on the complete implementation of the Geneva CommuniquÉ of June 30, 2012,” Lavrov said.
The Russian official further urged Washington to focus on talks instead of strikes on Syria, saying a US military attack on Syria could lead to the spread of terrorism.
Washington is struggling to secure support for military action against Syria over the accusation that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons.
The US Congress will officially start debating a US administration plan for war when lawmakers end their recess on September 9.
The recent war rhetoric against Syria first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the Middle Eastern country and its foreign-backed opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus.
The Syrian government categorically rejected the accusation.
Lavrov further said that there is plenty of evidence proving that the foreign-backed militants used chemical weapons in Syria.
Muallem for his part, reiterated his country’s preparedness to participate in the Geneva-2 conference.
“As for Geneva, we confirmed many times our participation in a conference without any preliminary conditions and we are prepared for it up to this moment of time,” he said.
The Syrian official also stressed that if any aggression occurs against his country, Syria will take a different position.
Muallem also conveyed the greetings of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for supporting Syria.
“Assad asked to convey greetings and gratitude to Putin for his position on Syria before and after the G20 summit,” Muallem said.
On September 6, world leaders ended the Group of Twenty developed and developing economies (G20) summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, while remaining deeply divided over military action in Syria.
At the end of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and a great majority of the world leaders who attended the summit opposed a unilateral military offensive against Syria.
The Russian president also pledged to provide military aid to Syria in the event of a foreign military intervention in the Arab country.
The UN, Iran, Russia, and China have been voicing strong opposition to the US plan for war against Syria.