Moscow, Sep 1 (IANS) Russia Thursday said a group of states was ‘provoking’ the Syrian opposition into boycotting discussions on reforms in that Middle East country, adding that it considers any military interference into Syria’s domestic affairs as unacceptable.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated this during a programme in Moscow, Xinhua reported.
Stating that Moscow still condemns the NATO’s operations in Libya, which led to numerous casualties, Lavrov said the NATO’s actions have run counter to the international law.
He also affirmed Russian opposition to double standards being adopted in military interventions during conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa.
Lavrov said: ‘Russia opposes double standards with regard to outside armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, only if these interventions were endorsed by the United Nations.’
He suggested the UN Security Council must adopt unequivocal decisions about the use of peacekeeping forces, otherwise it could lead to the ‘catastrophic consequences’.
‘Processes in the Middle East and North Africa have been in the focus of attention this year…The role of the ‘outside players’ is very important…The desire to gain geopolitical advantages for themselves should not become dominant in this respect,’ said Lavrov.
‘There should be no room for double standards,’ he added.
‘With regards to military interventions, this is only possible under the United Nations Charter or under a resolution of the UN Security Council, when exercising the right to individual or collective self-defence,’ Lavrov said.
