MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – The West is piling pressure on the Assad administration in Syria to set the stage for a military intervention, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
He pointed out that Russia’s partners in the West “focus their main attention during these meetings [in Geneva] on demands to … put more active pressure on the regime, to use new sanctions, in general, they are not seeking to ease the situation, but to fuel tensions, and are attempting to create conditions for a military intervention.”
US media earlier cited White House sources claiming that President Barack Obama was about to approve a new aid program to strengthen moderate Syrian rebels.
Following these reports, Russia voiced its concern over the US plans to ramp up support for the Syrian opposition, saying the military aid could end up in the hands of the terrorists.
The military conflict in Syria has been ongoing since March 2011. According to United Nations' estimates, over 130,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have died in Syria as of February as a result of fierce battles between the Syrian army and armed militants, including foreign mercenaries.
