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Putin Calls for Stopping Violence in Syria, Sitting at Dialogue Table

SANA

5th April, 2013

MOSCOW, (SANA) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin stressed the need to stop supporting the “Syrian opposition” with weapons.

During an interview with the German ARD TV, Putin said that international law prevents sending weapons to groups that seek the destabilization of any country.

He called for an immediate cessation of violence in Syria and urged all sides to sit at the dialogue table.

Answering a question on Russian weapon shipments to Syria, Putin said that there is no embargo on supplying countries with weapons, adding that “the Syrian opposition acquired 3.5 tons of weapons lately through the airports of Syria’s neighboring countries only, according to the Washington Post, that what should be stopped.

“Our western partners suggest that the Syrian President must leave and then we can think of what to do; that is wrong. Libya, for example, is fragmenting into three states. All sides must sit at the dialogue table to discuss the future status of the country.

“We reached an agreement on Syria in Geneva, but unfortunately our western partners moved away from it, again.” President Putin concluded.

M. Nassr / H. Sabbagh