Russia urges Annan to play key role in crisis talks amid calls for inquiry

RUSSIA said yesterday it would urge UN special envoy Kofi Annan to work more closely with the Syrian opposition at talks in Moscow next week, as it called for an inquiry into the latest massacre.

The Russian foreign ministry said the massacre, in which opposition sources said about 200 people were killed, served the interests of people who wanted a sectarian conflict in Syria, but did not directly apportion blame.

Russia has defended the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, at the UN Security Council since the start of the uprising 16 months ago, but was urged by the Syrian opposition at talks in Moscow this week to do more to end the violence.

Mr Annan’s spokesman in Geneva said the envoy expected to meet president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, and the Russian ministry source said Mr Annan would discuss the crisis with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Syrian opposition leaders left Moscow this week saying Russia’s policies were helping prolong the bloodshed. Moscow has said both sides in the conflict must work to end it.

The Russian foreign ministry’s statement gave no direct indication of who it blamed for the massacre in a village in the rebellious Hama region of Syria.

“We have no doubt that this wrongdoing serves the interests of those powers that are not seeking peace but persistently seek to sow the seeds of inter-confessional and civilian conflict on Syrian soil,” it said.

Russia has sent what foreign diplomats call conflicting signals that could point to a shift, but as yet no big change, in its stance. Moscow said on Thursday it would not agree to a threat of sanctions to end the conflict in Syria as the UN Security Council began negotiations on a resolution to extend a monitoring mission in Syria.

Gennedy Gatilov, the deputy minister for foreign affairs, also reiterated Moscow’s opposition to a Syria peacekeeping operation, proposed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who recommended the UN civilian staff in Syria should focus on a political solution and issues such as human rights.

“A peace enforcement operation is a forced measure. Any measures that could be taken without the government’s consent are out of the question,” the Interfax news agency quoted Mr Gatilov as saying.

He added: “Any further deployment of armed forces or contingents must be agreed upon with the Syrian government. As far as I know, the Syrian government is not ready for it at this stage.”

In a further sign of Russia’s determination to keep a foothold in the region if Mr Assad departs, military sources said Russian warships had left for Syria, where Moscow has a naval maintenance facility.

But Mr Gatilov’s call for Mr Annan to work more with the Syrian opposition, and the increased contacts with Mr Assad’s opponents, suggested Russia is seeking to facilitate a political transition.