Russia welcomes Arab League's decision to send observers to Syria

Russia welcomes the Arab League's decision to send observers to Syria and urges the country's relevant parties to start negotiations seeking a peaceful settlement of its crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. "As far as I know, a few days ago the Syrian leadership agreed to accept the observers from the Arab League and allowed their presence in any part of the country, to let them see by their own eyes what is going on," Lavrov told a news briefing here. The Arab League must follow how its demand for Syrian relevant parties to stop violence would be executed, he said. "We consider it very important to start negotiations between all Syrian sides as soon as possible about peaceful settlements in Syria. We believe the optimal solution will be to hold these talks in the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo," Lavrov said. He also rejected the use of violence to settle conflicts in the Middle East. "We are concerned about the events in the Middle East and Northern Africa... Any external military interference and incitement to confrontations in particular states are counterproductive and dangerous," he said. The Arab League decided to send observers to Syria if Damascus agreed to implement a peace plan to quell political unrest in the country, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani said Wednesday. Syria has been wracked by six months of unrest which the government blames on a foreign conspiracy and armed thugs.