John Kerry urges Moscow to take tougher line on Syria

 
Bo Wilson7 May 2013

US Secretary of state John Kerry was today making his case to President Vladimir Putin for Russia to take a tougher stance on Syria.

Mr Kerry arrived in Moscow for talks aimed at bridging the divide between Washington and Russia over the conflict. It follows air strikes on Syria by Israel at the weekend. Israel claims it targeted caches of weapons that could be used against it.

Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s remaining allies and refuses to support moves to force him to step down. It condemned Israel’s attacks as a threat to regional stability and Mr Putin spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Kremlin said. Syrian officials called the attacks a “declaration of war” that would cause Israel to “suffer”.

US officials said Mr Kerry hoped to change Moscow’s thinking via two angles — American threats to arm Syrian rebels, and evidence of chemical attacks by the Assad regime.

The US has described the use of chemical weapons as a “game changer” that could trigger international military intervention. Last week, it declared it strongly believed the Assad regime used chemical weapons in two attacks in March.

That argument has come under unexpected attack. UN human rights investigator Carla Del Ponte said testimony from victims and doctors had given rise to “concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof” that rebels had used deadly nerve agent sarin. US officials rejected the theory — the State Department said it continued to believe Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles remained securely in the regime’s control. Today the UN also played down Ms Del Ponte’s claims. Its Commission of Inquiry on Syria stressed it had not reached any “conclusive findings”.

Russia’s foreign ministry claimed the West was politicising the issue of chemical weapons and said it feared public opinion was being prepared for possible military intervention.

But White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “We have consistently pointed clearly to Assad’s behaviour as proof that further support for the regime is not in the interest of the Syrian people or the countries that have in the past supported Assad.”

Reports from activists said up to 42 soldiers died in the attacks by Israeli jets near Damascus. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility but security sources said the aim was to stop the transfer of Iran-made missiles to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who could then use them to strike Israel.

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