Russia FM Lavrov: Geneva II Conference Cannot Be About Regime Change

25-1-2014 – eaworldview – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reiterated that the Geneva II conference should not and cannot be about the departure of the Assad regime:

Everyone says that if we just set the task of regime change, as some are attempting to do, chaos will come to Syria. And more than enough chaos is there. But this could simply avalanche…and no one wants this. Everyone realizes that order should be maintained and no other methods, but preserving the current institutions, exist for this. Russia’s co-sponsor of the conference, the US, has insisted — alongside the Syrian opposition — that the gathering must adhere to the “Geneva I” provision of Assad giving up power to a transitional governing authority. Lavrov did not directly counter the Americans, but focused on Moscow as a broker of discussions. He said Russia is pushing Syrians “so that they agree themselves”:

This could sound quite naive but no other way actually exists.

It is possible to influence the parties and to prompt them so that they sit at the negotiating table, not just ‘serve’ an act, and truly search for some compromises.

It is impossible to put some scheme on the table, like, “provision 1 — someone leaves, provision 2 — someone comes.’ This is social engineering, which has never ended in anything good anywhere.

He repeated: Nothing is said in the Geneva communique that someone should leave – it states the necessity for Syrians themselves to accord a mutually acceptable composition and parameters of transition period. And it is emphasized there that, at that, it is necessary to preserve the institutions of Syrian society, including the army and security service.“Things proceed slowly, not as fast as we wanted, even amid the political will of Moscow and Washington,” Lavrov said. http://eaworldview.com/2014/01/syria-daily-geneva-ii-seeks-regime-opposition-talks/