Lavrov: Russia Opposes EU Sanctions on Syria

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jouhina news, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, on Wednesday stressed his country's opposition to unilateral sanctions on Syria, reiterating Moscow's stance on calling for implementing the plan of the international envoy to Syria Kofi Annan. In a press conference with his Cyprian counterpart Erato-Kozakou Marcoullis, held in Moscow, Lavrov said that Russia considers the EU measures of imposing air and sea blockade on Syria as "unproductive". He added that the US and the Western countries' attempts at passing over the Security Council resolutions regarding the situation in Syria are unacceptable. "We shouldn't contradict the Security Council resolutions on Syria and the agreements reached at the meeting of the international action group in Geneva and its concluding statement which didn't include any signal on sanctions," Lavrov told the press conference. He pointed out that Russia does not understand that the Western countries have not condemned the terrorist bombing which recently targeted the Security Council building in Damascus and claimed the lives of senior leaders. "Russia understands that they call for the terrorist operations to continue until the international Security Council takes the decision they want regarding Syria. This is why Russia can't come to terms with this view under these circumstances," Lavrov added. He reiterated that the Syrians are the ones who should determine their country's destiny by themselves away from any foreign interference. Cyprus' Foreign Minister: We Disagree with any Foreign Interference in Syria For her part, Cyprus' Foreign Minister expressed her country's opposition to any foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs as it would bring negative repercussions on the whole region. "We expressed our disagreement with any foreign interference in Syria's affairs because we believe that such interferences could cause more tension in the situation in Syria and bring dramatic consequences on the entire region, which we could not control," said Marcoullis. Russian Foreign Ministry: Russia Does Not Recognize EU Unilateral Sanctions on Syria The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed in a statement that Russia does not recognize the EU unilateral sanctions on Syria and it considers them as 'unproductive' and inconsistent with the content of UN Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan's plan and the recommendations of Geneva conference on Syria. The Ministry pointed out that the EU measures can be considered as air and naval blockade of Syria. The Ministry said that the EU Council's decision taken on July 23rd, on imposing the 17th round of sanctions on Syria requires detailed assessment by experts. It pointed out that the assessment is to determine the consistency of such sanctions with the international law, particularly concerning the inspection of airplanes and ships suspected of carrying weapons or other equipment to crack down on protesters. Gatilov: Some Russia's Western Partners Push Syrian Opposition to Continue Bloodshed Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Gennady Gatilov, stressed that some western countries are pushing the Syrian opposition to continue the bloodshed in the country. In statements to ITAR-TASS News Agency on Wednesday , Gatilov added that Moscow regrets the statements of some western countries that they will solve the crisis in Syria outside the framework of the UN Security Council. Gatilov underscored that it is only the UN Security Council which can take implementable resolutions for the political settlement. Gatilov blasted such statements by some western countries as ' backtracking on joint agreed-upon stances which were reached to in Geneva' and as a 'wrong political way'. Gatilov urged western partners to put pressures on all sides of the crisis in Syria, asserting that progress cannot be achieved but through cooperation among all concerned sides and that the UN power is in its ability to convince both sides in the crisis in Syria to indulge in political process. He underscored that according to Geneva meeting, all external 'players' should unify their efforts over the crisis in Syria.