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Syrian Opposition Group to Visit Russia on April 26-27

24 April 2012 02:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Representatives from another group of the Syrian opposition, the Popular Front for Change and Liberation (PFCL), will visit Russia on April 26-27, APA reports quoting Ria Novosti.

PFCL representative Qadri Jamil said that they have a scheduled meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, April 26. The Front also plans to hold a press conference on Friday in Moscow.

According to Jamil, PFCL leaders intend to discuss with the Russian side â€œthe situation in Syria and around it, and how to start a dialogue inside Syria, which gives a unique opportunity to overcome the crisis by peaceful means.â€

â€œThis is the most difficult question. In this case, the issue is not in the dialogue, but in the way to reach it. We need a road map that will lead to dialogue,â€ Jamil said.

Jamil believes that Moscow can play an important role in the process of preparing dialogue inside Syria and to mediate between the various parties of the Syrian opposition. â€œIt is necessary that all participants in the dialogue agree on common principles and ways of overcoming the crisis,â€ he said.

The second important task is to speed up the political dialogue. So far, Jamil said, there is only â€œan imitation of the desireâ€ to begin it.

Delegates from another internal opposition movement, the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB), held talks with Lavrov in Moscow last Wednesday, a week after Russiaâ€™s top diplomat met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

Syrian and foreign-based rights groups have accused Syrian government troops of executions and torture. Damascus says it is fighting â€œterroristsâ€ and that some 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed in the violence.

More than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad last March, according to the UN.

Moscow has twice vetoed UN Security Council resolutions over what it called pro-rebel bias since the start of the uprising against Assad, but gave its full backing to Kofi Annanâ€™s peace plan.