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Russian PM warns of catastrophic consequence of lingering Syria conflict

Xinhua, February 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday warned here of catastrophic consequences in case that the conflict in Syria dragged on.

Speaking to top diplomats at a session of the ongoing Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Medvedev said it was important to prevent Syria from disintegrating.

"The consequence of this scenario will be catastrophic to the Middle East as a whole," he said.

He went on to explain that terrorists would take advantage of the situation and the whole world would have to face up to terror if the situation in Syria and other hot spots were not normalized.

According to Medvedev, the work of International Syria Support Group (ISSG), which produced a statement early Friday morning, was inspiring. He called for all sides to come to the negotiating table instead of just monitoring the situation in Syria.

He said "a civil war is raging there. We have to work together to address this issue. We have to work efficiently, not just to monitor how the situation is developing there."

Medvedev refuted the accusation that Russia was bombing civilian targets in Syria. "That is not true," he said and added there is no evidence.

"Russia is not trying to pursue some secret goal in Syria." Medvedev said Russia was trying to prevent Russian militants from going back to Russia from Syria to commit terrorist acts. "We are simply protecting our national interests."

Medvedev hoped to see positive developments within the frame of dialogue at the MSC.

The ISSG meeting on Thursday night reached an agreement that a nationwide cessation of hostilities should be implemented soon in the war-torn Middle East country. Enditem