Russian officials: Russia recognizes the reality of events in Syria

Chairman of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachyov underlined that Russia and a number of countries recognize the reality of situation in Syria more than any other countries, so it used veto to drop a draft resolution against Syria. In a statement Thursday, Kosachyov said that the Syrian authorities are ready to carry out democratic and profound reforms, so the Syrian people have the opportunity to find ways for continuing their development. For their parts, State Duma Council member Valentine Shorshanov and the Communist Party central committee's member Andrey Filipov underlined that Russia's veto was a correct stance based on principles of justice and right in the face of hegemony. In a speech to the Syrian TV today, the two Russian officials said relations among countries should be based on the mutual respect, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs. They condemned the stances of the US, Britain, France which threaten to apply sanctions on Syria.   Markov: President al-Assad's policy defends rights of all spectrums of Syrian society Deputy of Russian Duma Council and Director of Political Research Institute in Moscow Sergey Markov said that President Bashar al-Assad's policy defends the rights of all spectrums of the Syrian society which strongly support this policy. Markov warned that the Syrian Opposition, which includes many of al-Qaeda supporters, will commit acts of harassment against the Syrian people the moment it came into power as dictatorship seems so clear in its acts, adding that the US seeks to sow religious and racial conflict in Syria. Markov considered Russia and China's veto of a UNSC draft resolution against Syria as a serious failure of the US regarding the situation in Syria. He added that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statements on that Moscow and Beijing should explain why they vetoed a UNSC draft resolution on Syria indicate the great failure of Washington diplomacy. Zasypkin: Russia rejects draft resolution against Syria as it is based on factors that escalate tension In the same context, Russian Ambassador in Beirut Alexander Zasypkin said that Russia's rejection of the UNSC draft resolution against Syria emerged from the fact that the resolution was based on factors that may escalate the tension without any settlement or dialogue. He added that Russia proposed a stance against extremism and foreign interference but it was rejected. In a phone call with the Lebanese al-Manar TV Channel, Zasypkin said Russia has worked to crystallize a unified stance at the UN Security Council and it has exerted all possible efforts from the beginning to achieve that. Zasypkin added that Russia in cooperation with China has set up its own draft resolution which is based on Syria's territorial integrity and sovereignty, in addition to the non-interference in its internal affairs and the call for dialogue. He said that "we call on Syria to speed up the implementation of reforms and at the same time we see that the opposition there is radical and does terrorist practices." Zasypkin reiterated that Russia's efforts at the UN Security Council aim at preventing any form of foreign interference in the Syrian affairs.