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 Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country would continue to provide assistance to Syria, including weapons.During a press conference at the end of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Putin noted that the Group of Twenty leaders has been unable to achieve a convergence of positions on the Syrian crisis during the summit. Putin stressed that the use of force against a sovereign state is prohibited by international law, and only allowed for self-defense or by a UN Security Council resolution, underlying that most of the summit participants expressed their rejection of any military operation against Damascus. Putin considered that destabilizing the Middle East would be counterproductive, indicating that all the regional events are reflected on the global economy. "In this difficult situation for the global economy as a whole, destabilizing the situation in the Middle East will lead to military results at least," he said. The Russian president also stressed that the situation regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria is the result of provocation by the militants. "I start from that everything happened on the alleged use of chemical weapons, is only a provocation by the militants who are hoping with the help of the countries backing them since the beginning. This is the goal of this provocation," Putin stated. Moreover, he stressed Moscow's determination to continue to provide aid to Syria. "Of course we will help Syrian," he said, recalling that Pope said in his last message that the start of a new series of military operations is unacceptable. The Russian President also expressed beliefs that a military strike against Syria may block the settlement of the North Korean nuclear file. | ||||
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| Local Editor | ||||
 U.S. President Barack Obama denied to directly respond to a question on whether he would go ahead with the military operation in Syria in case Congress refused to approve it."The use of the Assad regime of chemical weapons constitutes a threat to international security," Obama told reporters during a press conference held at the conclusion of the Group of Twenty summit in St. Petersburg. "The use of chemical weapons threatening the security of Syria neighbors, including Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel," he added, pointing out that it runs the risks of destabilizing the Middle East as a whole and the possibility that chemical weapons reach the hands of terrorist groups. Obama also stressed the need to respond to the use of chemical weapons in Syria , noting that the 'no reply' would send the wrong signal to other authoritarian regimes. He stated that he respects the principle of non - use of force without the UN Security Council approval, but this principle is not effective in light of the inability of the Security Council to act. The US president indicated that there is a consensus among the Group of Twenty countries that chemical weapons were used in Syria, claiming that the majority of G20 states believe that they were used by the Syrian authorities. Turning to his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the G20 summit sidelines, Obama said that the discussions between them were constructive and that he agreed with Putin that the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis is through a political transition based on what was agreed in Geneva last year. Moreover, Obama denied the reports revealing that he had asked the Pentagon to prepare an extensive list of targets in Syria, saying that these reports are "incorrect". He added that he had discussed with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "limited and proportionate response" in Syria . | ||||
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