ST. PETERSBURG — President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the West against arming Syrian rebel forces, which he said included "terrorist" groups, and warned that a swift exit by President Bashar Assad risked creating a dangerous power vacuum.
"If the United States … recognizes one of the key Syrian opposition organizations, al-Nusra, as terrorist … how can one deliver arms to those opposition members?" Putin told a panel with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday. "Where will they end up? What role will they play?"
Putin defended his own country's arm sales to the embattled Syrian government as "entirely legal, repeating Russia's position that outsiders should not determine the fate of Assad and Syria.
"If Assad goes today, a political vacuum emerges — who will fill it?" Putin said at a later news conference with Merkel. "Maybe those terrorist organizations. Nobody wants this, but how can it be avoided? After all, they are armed and aggressive."
The only solution, he said, was an international peace conference that Russia and the U.S. are seeking to convene.
At the United Nations, a UN spokeswoman said senior U.S. and Russian officials would meet with the international mediator on Syria in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss the peace conference.
The peace conference, however, is not expected to occur before August after Group of Eight leaders clashed with Russia over the nature of a transitional government.
Separately, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told The Associated Press on Friday that Washington was sending contradictory signals on Syria that could derail the conference.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.