• Home
• News Article

Lavrov Stresses Importance of Non-interference in Sovereign States People alone Have Right to Self-determination

By R. Raslan/H. Said/H. Sabbagh Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday stressed the importance of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states and that the peoples alone have the right to self-determination.

In a letter to Valdai International Discussion Club, read by his deputy Mikhail Bogdanov, Lavrov underscored the need for not using the latest developments related to the so-called 'Arab Spring' for foreign interference in the affairs of sovereign countries.

He added that the latest developments should not divert the attention away from resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and other conflicts that have for long been spoiling the political atmosphere in the region.

For his part, Bogdanov said in his speech at Valdai Discussion Club Middle East section's conference, reported by Russia Today TV, that the level of violence in Syria has risen over the past period because of the gunmen's activities, calling on the opposition that rules over the armed groups to give the order to these groups to stop their provocative operations against the Syrian authorities.

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister described the so-called 'Friends of Syria' group as a group of amateurs that is aimed at interfering in Syria's affairs, including military interference, stressing that such interference constitutes a violation of the international law and the legitimacy of the UN.

"The level of violence in Syria has notably risen over the past period, but this didn't happen at all because of the behavior of the Syrian authorities, which rather did their best, particularly during the presence of the Arab monitors in Syria, to reduce the level of violence. They withdrew military vehicles and forces from the streets and cities, released thousands of detainees and didn't prevent peaceful protests," Bogdanov told the Conference, which was reported by Russia Today TV.

He stressed that these moves made by the Syrian authorities were confirmed in the Arab monitors' report. However, the armed groups of the opposition increased and expanded their operations, Bogdanov added, stressing the necessity of stopping the provocative operations against the Syrian authorities.

"In case the opposition doesn't rule over the armed groups, then it should dissociate itself from the extremists and terrorists and call on those close to it to stop dealing with the gunmen," said Bogdanov.

The participants in the Conference, held in the Russia city of Sochi under the title /Transformation in the Arab World and Russia's Interests/, are to discuss the internal political changes in the Arab countries and the problems resulted from the deteriorating relations among the different parties in the Arab region, as well as the impact of these developments on the formation of new balances of power in the Middle East and international relations system in general.

Bogdanov: Some Articles of Arab League Decision on Syria Similar to Statement of Ayman al-Zawahiri

Bogdanov said that some of the articles of the Arab League decision on Syria are similar to the statement of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in which he called for providing all possible help to terrorists in Syria.

The Deputy Foreign Minister said that the Arab League backed out of the principles of the plan it approved on November 2011 and in fact showed their support of the Syrian opposition, adding that the decision wasn't made unanimously by all members of the League.

He also said that Russia has raised several questions after the recent meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers on February 12, specifically regarding the League's plan to form an Arab-international mission to monitor the ceasefire.

Bogdanov said that Russia believes that since the Arab League is a regional organizations, its decision cannot address Syrian armed forces directly, circumventing the government, adding "it's impossible not to be surprised that some of the articles of the aforementioned Arab League decision are similar to the statement of al-Zawahiri.

© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2012