Russia sees recent Syrian opposition moves as provocative

The demands set by the Syrian opposition as preconditions for its participation in the Geneva-II peace conference were "unalloyed provocation," Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. "The regime of (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad repeatedly confirmed its readiness to participate in the Geneva-II conference. From opposition we hear only about more preconditions," Lavrov told reporters after talks with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully. "If it is made to provoke (Assad's) regime for setting its own preconditions, this is an unalloyed provocation," he said. Leader of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) Ahmad Jarba said Sunday that his group would not attend the conference if Iran is invited and if there is not a strict timetable for Assad to leave office. Moscow insisted that Iran must participate in the early stages of Geneva-II as Teheran has been an influential outside player in the Syrian conflict. Lavrov noted that Jarba's statement meant that influence of the Western-backed SNC has waned among Assad's opponents. "Real power within the camp of Assad's opponents shifts to other people," he said. The minister added that those who call for a settlement of the humanitarian problem in Syria in the first place wanted to oust Assad, not to solve the crisis. "This is an attempt to distract attention from their inability to bring the opposition to Geneva conference," the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.