Russia warns of Western anti-Syria move

“If the priority is the change of the regime, then there will be more blood, but if the priority is to save lives, then there is no need for any type of resolutions. We have not yet tried to implement Geneva accords,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

He made the remarks at a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi and UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Cairo.

On November 2, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying the United States was giving “direct orders” to the “Syrian opposition.”

“We heard direct orders (from the United States) about what the Syrian opposition should do to form a ‘government in exile’, and about who should join such a government,” the statement read.

“US representatives are saying that they do not intend to wait for a change in Russia and China’s position. So they are bluntly making clear that they see the Syria conflict being settled exclusively on their terms,” the statement further read.

Syria has been the scene of unrest since March 2011 and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.

The anti-Syria Western states have been calling for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but Russia and China oppose the Western drive to oust the Syrian president.