Saudi Arabia, a leading foe of President Bashar al-Assad,
demanded his ally Russia end its raids on Syria, saying the strikes had
caused civilian casualties while failing to target the hardline Islamic
State militants Moscow says it opposes.
In remarks at the
United Nations in New York, a senior Saudi diplomat suggested both
Russia and Assad's other main ally Iran could not claim to fight Islamic
State "terrorism" at the same time as supporting the "terrorism" of the
Syrian authorities.
Saudi ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi
expressed "profound concern regarding the military operations which
Russian forces have carried out in Homs and Hama today, places where
ISIS forces are not present. These attacks led to a number of innocent
victims. We demand it stop immediately and not recur."
"As for
those countries that have claimed recently to join in the fight against
ISIS terrorism, they can’t do that at the same time as they support the
terrorism of the Syrian regime and its terrorist foreign allies like
Hezbollah and the Quds Force and other terrorist sectarian groups," he
added in comments broadcast by Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television.
ISIS
is a common acronym for Islamic State, also known as ISIL. Lebanon's
Hezbollah Shi'ite militia openly fights on behalf of Assad's government,
and the Quds Force, part of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, is also
widely believed to be aiding Damascus.
Russia on Wednesday
launched its first air strikes in Syria since the country's civil war
began in 2011, giving an hour's notice to the United States, which has
led a coalition of Western allies and regional states flying missions
for a year.
Russia's move looks likely to chill a tentative
detente begun this year between Russia and Saudi Arabia despite their
backing for opposing sides in Syria's conflict and their differences
over the issue of Iran's nuclear programme.
In June, the
atmosphere appeared to improve when Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman led a delegation of Saudi officials to Moscow and signed military
and energy agreements.
The trip raised speculation about closer ties between the two countries. But that prospect now appears in question.
In
an interview with al-Hayat newspaper published on Thursday, Saudi
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the two countries had many common
interests on which to develop ties, but he noted continuing "lack of
agreement" on Syria.
"I visited Russia, as did other Gulf
officials. You know of the (positive) atmosphere that prevailed two
months ago," Jubeir was quoted as saying. "But all of a sudden Russia
stepped up its military role in Syria and announced its political
position backing Assad."
Riyadh is still smarting over a
Russian-Chinese veto in February 2012 of a U.N. Security Resolution
drafted by the Saudis and backed by the West that Assad should step
down.
It remains unclear whether Gulf Arab states would want the
Syrian rebels they fund to engage Russian forces in battle - a prospect
that would further upset the regional balance of power.
"The
solution (in Syria) does not depend on Russia,” Jubeir told al-Hayat.
“The principle is, firstly, that there is no role for Bashar al-Assad in
Syria's future. The second principle is to maintain the civil and
military institutions in Syria in order to avoid chaos."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-demands-russ/2163278.html
A third point was to form a transitional council of all Syrians to help Syria move to a new stage, he said.
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