West must force Syrian opposition to get involved in efforts to resolve crisis

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stressed the need for Russia's western partners to force the Syrian opposition to become involved in the efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria, particularly since the Syrian government officially announced its participation in the upcoming international conference on Syria. In an interview published by ITAR-TASS news agency on Wednesday, Gatilov said that the ball is now in the court of Russia's partners, and that they are expected to work actively to convince the opposition to enter negotiations. He added that Moscow is working to convince the Syrian authorities to adopt a serious position regarding participation in the international conference, but Russia doesn't intend to pressure the Syrian government to enter any negotiations if their results are predetermined. Gatilov noted that the Syrian opposition has yet to announce who will represent it in the international conference, on the contrary; they say they will not go to the conference until they receive weapons and achieve military superiority, adding that there's no information about what base they will adopt in negotiations. Ushakov: Moscow Exports Weapons to Syria on a legal basis For his part, Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the Russian President announced that Moscow exports weapons to Syria on a legal basis as Syrian-Russian contracts which were previously signed are being implemented now. "President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly underscored that the currently deals have been made with the Syrian government on a legal basis," Ushakov told reporters today. On the preparations for the international conference on Syria, Ushakov said that the final statement of the G8 summit which was held in north Ireland stressed the need for convening the conference as soon as possible.   Russia Rejects attempts to impose decisions on Syria Meanwhile, Russia reiterated rejection of any foreign attempt to impose any decision on the Syrian people. "Russia won't accept any conference through which our partners or the participant sides impose decisions on the Syrian people from outside, particularly determining specifications of the political transitional process," Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign minister of Russia said. In a relevant context, Ryabkov criticized some international sides' bids to prevent Iran from taking part in the international conference on Syria, saying Tehran has a great influence in Syria and the region alike.   French National Front Party: Russia's stance on crisis in Syria brave, prevented worst scenarios French National Front Party Marine Le Pen said that the approach of the Russian leadership and its independent foreign policy which adopted a brave stance on the crisis in Syria prevented the worst scenarios from taking place. Russia Today website quoted Le Pen as saying that France must remain France far from all changes witnessed in the world, considering that France and many other European countries cannot preach about democracy    H. Sabbagh/ Mazen