Russia UN envoy says Syria opposition must be engaged
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The Russian envoy to the United Nations said it was crucial to engage the Syrian opposition in talks to help end violence in Syria, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday.Vitaly Churkin, the Russian Ambassador to the UN, was commenting on a resolution passed by the UN Security Council earlier Wednesday, which backed a peace plan proposed by the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan.Churkin said engaging the "opposition and opposition armed groups" will be critical for the success of the peace plan, especially given the elusive success of attempts to foster dialogue between these groups and the government in Damascus.The Russian ambassador also expressed concern that a foreign element was "illegally" sending weapons to the armed opposition."We are disturbed about that," Al Jazeera quoted Churkin as saying. "There is a need to stop violence stop fighting and sending in weapons isn’t helpful."
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