Russia: Syria Has No Intention to Use WMD, Able To Protect Them
Russia vehemently opposes military intervention in Syria, where al-Assad has given Moscow its firmest Middle East foothold in recent years, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West against unilateral action on Tuesday.
Russia believes Syria has no intention of using its chemical weapons and is able to safeguard them, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified Foreign Ministry official.
The report seemed aimed to reassure the West that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will not use chemical weapons against rebels after US President Barack Obama threatened "enormous consequences" if Damascus even moved them in a menacing way.
"A confidential dialogue with the Syrian government on the security of the arsenal has convinced Russia that the Syrian authorities do not intend to use these weapons and are capable of keeping them under control themselves," Kommersant reported.
The Russian Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment on the report, which cited the official as saying Russia considered it "entirely probable" the United States would take military action if it saw a threat from chemical arms.
Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed UN Security Council resolutions that would have opened the door to military intervention. The two powers fear the West are attempting to exploit the crisis to further their interests.
Kommersant also quoted the Foreign Ministry official as saying the United States had "firmly warned insurgents not to even come close to chemical weapons storage sites and production plants" and that "opposition groups are heeding" those demands.
"This shows that the West can exert very specific influence on Assad's opponents when it wants to do so," the official said.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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