Russian, US experts disagree on many aspects of Syria situation – senator

(Interfax – July 9, 2013) The situation in Syria and its impact on the whole Middle East were the main topics of discussion during a meeting of Russian and American experts in Moscow, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 July.

Member of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee Igor Morozov told journalists that the experts met at a Russian-American seminar, organized by the Public Projects Institute and the Centre for the National Interest based in Washington.

“Well-known politicians took part in the discussion from the American side, including former senator and US presidential candidate Gary Hart, four-star general and authoritative political figure Charles Boyd and well-known political analyst Dimitri Simes. Parliamentarians and experts in international relations represented Russia,” Morozov said.

Emphasis on Syria

The main emphasis in the discussion was on Syria, where there was an obvious contrast between the Russian and US positions.

“During the discussion, our American partners said that it is only possible to discuss the Syrian problem and the way to settle it subject to the unconditional resignation of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Asad. Their position is unequivocal – ‘Al-Asad should go’ – and only after this will it be possible to discuss the issues of forming a transitional government and organizing the election of new authorities,” Morozov said.

He added that the Russian side put counter-questions to the Americans. “We asked why should Al-Asad, who is the legitimately elected president, go? Despite the continuing conflict, the majority of the population support him. He commands an army of over 300,000. There is only a year until the next election,” Morozov said.

He said that it seemed to the Russian participants that the USA, in its inflexibility towards Al-Asad, is ready to go so far as to prosecute him at the international war crimes tribunal.

“This trend for the USA’s exclusive right to decide the fates of whole peoples and sovereign states showed in the speeches by the American experts. We are drawing attention to the fact that Al-Asad created a balance between ethnic groups and their representatives had access to the authorities, had the opportunity to communicate both horizontally and vertically, which is the basis of interethnic stability in Syria. In this country a balance has formed of tolerance and neighbourly relations between different ethnic and religious communities which have existed for centuries in Syria,” Morozov said.

“War of all against all will begin”

The Russian experts said that the USA and their allies are actually supporting the growth of religious fanaticism and violence in Syria. “In this country people belonging to a different faith are becoming the target of Islamic extremists, and the mass exodus of Christians from Syria is being observed. The danger is that if the pro-Western elite is demolished by radicals, then precisely Europe will suffer first of all as the Middle East’s closest neighbour, and if the balance is inverted in this region, then the war of all against all will begin, and the USA should realize this,” Morozov said.

He said that it was noted during the meeting that the USA, by interfering in the internal affairs of Middle Eastern states, will bring the situation to chaos and a wave of Islamic extremism.

“It is sufficient to look at what is happening in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan: the USA and their allies today are arming the Syrian opposition, which mostly consists of mercenaries; the USA is thereby in fact forcing the conflict and its escalation, which threatens to explode for the whole Middle East, and we spoke about this to our partners,” Morozov said.

Russia’s position

He said that Russia’s position is that the conflict in Syria should be resolved solely by internal forces.

“At the heart of Russia’s position is concern about the lives and safety of millions of people, concern about the future stability of a huge and important region, and this is the only possible approach in this situation. The conflicting sides should stop the violence and sit at the negotiating table. It was precisely this idea which we tried to inform our partners of during this meeting,” Morozov.

He noted that participants also discussed the Geneva meeting on Syria, which should take place in the autumn.

“We spoke about the need for all opposing sides to take part in it. It is necessary to compel these forces to the negotiating process, in order to stop the violence in the country and to find a compromise, which would guarantee the safety of all ethnic and religious groups and the Syrian population as a whole. And in this we found understanding on the part of our American counterparts,” Morozov noted.

He added that, despite the differences, the sides came to a common denominator on a number of issues. “This is not the last meeting in this format, and we will continue to discuss the problems of Syria, and of the whole Middle East, with our American partners,” Morozov noted.