Russia Pledges Syria Cooperation

Moscow is ready to cooperate on Syria with its partners from the UN, the EU, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

This cooperation should be based on the renunciation of violence and of the imposition of outside solutions on the Syrians, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Most importantly, there should be no outside interference in Syria’s internal affairs, the ministry said.

Syria has been the scene of continuous anti-government protests for nearly a year. According to the UN, more than 5,400 people have died in the unrest. The Syrian authorities said that over 2,000 military and law enforcement officials were killed in clashes with well-armed militants.

In early February, Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution on Syria that could lead to a military operation against Syrian government forces to prevent a repetition of “the Libyan scenario.”

In Libya, rebels ousted and killed long-standing dictator Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011 after a months-long military standoff in which they received assistance from NATO forces.

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