Dec 21, 2012 — BRUSSELS (SANA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow has differences with the EU over the situation in Syria and seeks to reach understanding about them through continuous deliberations and dialogue.
President Putin was speaking in a press conference following the Russia-EU Summit held in Brussels.
Putin highlighted the necessity to reach a sustainable solution through having all the Syrians agree on their country's future and securing their interests, adding ''We have reached a statement in Geneva that includes these points to which our Western partners have agreed, and we also agreed on the necessity that all parties come to dialogue for Geneva statement not to remain ink on paper''.
''I'd like to stress that we want a democratic order established in Syria that reflects the Syrians' will, '' President Putin said, noting that Syria is close to the border of Russia which does not want it to suffer from chaos.
Rompuy: We Have to Continue Efforts to Reach a Political Solution in Syria
For his part, President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, highlighted the necessity to continue efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria and to support the mission of the UN Envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.
''We exchanged views on the situation in Syria and agreed on the necessity of halting violence and backing Mr. Brahimi's efforts, and I renewed the EU stance announced recently that we are working to provide support for protecting civilians and backing a future democratic state in Syria,'' Rompuy said.
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The Western media took the story from a different angle. the New York times reports that Mr. Putin restated Russia’s position that Syria’s civil war could be resolved only through talks between the parties involved. But he insisted that “we aren’t a defender of the current Syrian leadership” and said Moscow wants “a democratic regime in Syria based on the expression of the people’s will.”
Mr. Putin described Russia’s policy, which has put it at odds with Washington and also Arab countries that support Mr. Assad’s opponents, as intended to avoid mayhem. “We will do what we can so that there will be order in Syria,” he said. “Whatever changes are occurring in Syria, we would not like to see the same chaos there which we are seeing in other countries in the region.”
Earlier, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said recently that Mr. Assad’s government could lose its struggle for survival and that Moscow was making contingency plans to evacuate citizens from the country.
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