The head of the German foreign Ministry: without Moscow to resolve the conflict in Syria will fail
Thus, Sigmar Gabriel, expressed confidence that the Russian side “will not always protect the” President Bashar al-Assad.
BERLIN, April 9. /Offset. TASS Vyacheslav Filippov/. The conflict in Syria will not be resolved without Russia. This opinion was expressed by foreign Minister of Germany Sigmar Gabriel in an interview with the newspaper Bild.
“I have been in close contact with my Russian counterpart Lavrov, he said. — No, Moscow is not able to resolve the Syrian conflict. And I have the impression that Russia will not always defend Assad.”
In his opinion, “only a political solution with the participation of Russia, United States and key regional players will be able to end the suffering of people”
“It is now important that we have overcome the disunity of the UN Security Council and has made progress in the efforts to achieve peace under the aegis of the UN,” said Gabriel.
To prevent a new escalation
The Minister does not consider that the case may go to an open military conflict between Russia and the United States. “No, — he said. And I assume that USA properly informed Russia about its military action.”
At the same time, Gabriel stressed that “after the end of the cold war rarely when the international situation was so serious, as these days”
“All parties should now keep a cool head. We don’t need is a new escalation”, — said the head of the German foreign Ministry.
Gabriel said that the German authorities “have information partners and sources on the spot, which seems very convincing” in terms of responsibility of the Assad government for the alleged chemical attack in Idlib.
“It is important that the UN and the Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW) immediately gained access and was able without any obstacles to carry out the investigation,” he said.
While Gabrielle has ruled out the possibility of participation of the Bundeswehr in the new U.S. strikes on Syrian army positions. “The mandate approved by the Bundestag, is clear: we support the fight against ISIS (banned in the Russian terrorist group “Islamic state” — approx. TASS), but not the war against Syria,” — he stressed.
Future of Assad is left behind
“I very much hope that international pressure will not allow the Syrian regime to violate international law and to use poison gas against innocent men, women and children,” said the German Minister.
“The use of chemical weapons is a flagrant violation of international law. In the case of the minions of Assad, we are talking about repeat offenders”, he argued.
“Hardly anyone at the present time caused so much suffering to people as the Assad regime continued Gabriel. I’m sure that Assad will sooner or later be held accountable for these crimes.”
“In any case, his future is behind us” — believes the Minister.
Russia’s Reaction
The Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov in telephone conversation with the foreign Minister of Germany Sigmar Gabriel stated that the arguments of the US attack on the airfield in Syria false and unconvincing. This was stated on Saturday at the Russian diplomatic office on the basis of the conversation held on the initiative of the German side.
The parties “discussed the situation in Syria in the aftermath of the US Armed forces strikes on Syrian government forces on the night of 7 April.”
Lavrov “explained the Russian position regarding the illegal actions of Washington, which is an act of aggression and flagrant violation of international law, contrary to the objectives of the fight against international terrorism, undermining regional and global security”.
“The Russian Minister emphasized the fact that the arguments of the United States in support of its illegal armed action, in particular the reference to the Syrian forces use chemical weapons in Idlib on April 4, unreliable and unconvincing,” said the Russian foreign Ministry.
The Russian side stressed the need for “a thorough investigation of the incident and establish the facts,” the Ministry said.