SYRIA AND RUSSIA WARN WEST AGAINST AIDING REBELS

Syria and Russia Warn West Against Aiding Rebels

By STEPHEN CASTLE

Published: June 17, 2013



ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland — With the crisis in Syria dominating a meeting of the G8 nations, talks were due Monday night to press Russia to overcome its deep differences with other industrialized nations and agree a series of principles over how to achieve a transition from the government of President Bashar al-
A British official, speaking on condition of anonymity per diplomatic protocol, said the hopes were for a discussion, to take place over dinner, that would be a “clarifying moment,” revealing whether Russia would be prepared to join – or stand aside from — a summit communiqué by the other seven nations.
The Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin,has supported Mr. Assad and warned against American plans to begin sending some arms to rebels there.
Ahead of the dinner, President Barack Obama was to meet with Mr. Putin and to try to persuade him to put pressure on Mr. Assad to negotiate a transition.
Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, who has pushed hard for help for the Syrian opposition but has not agreed to help arm them, is leading the talks, which are taking place in a golfing resort in Northern Ireland.
The five principles due to be discussed over dinner are provision of humanitarian assistance; moves to combat extremist elements; a declaration that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable; preparations for stabilization after a change of government; and discussion over a transition to a new executive authority in Syria.
The discussions avoid the contentious issue of arming Syria’s rebels — which divides Europeans — and an agreement could form the basis of a peace talks that international leaders have been trying to arrange. British officials hope that Mr. Assad could be persuaded to send a representative to those discussions, paving the way for him to eventually relinquish power.
Monday night’s talks were due to take place in a lakeside lodge with few officials present, over a meal of crab, prawn and avocado salad, roast beef and apple crumble.
The two-day summit meeting, which ends Tuesday, is also expected to discuss moves to clamp down on tax evasion and tax avoidance by multinational corporations. Britain is also seeking an agreement on preventing ransom payments in kidnappings, which it believes is now the major source of terrorist funding.
Well before the start of Monday’s G8 summit meeting, divisions were on display over Syria. Mr. Cameron conceded that he found some elements of the Syrian opposition worrying but sought to keep open the option of arming those who want a democratic future.
Speaking on Monday in Northern Ireland, Mr. Cameron, who faces internal opposition within his coalition government to arming the rebels, said he had made no decision on the issue.
“I am as worried as anyone else about elements of the Syrian opposition who are extremists, who support terrorism, who are a great danger to our world” Mr. Cameron said. “The question is what do we do about that?”
“My argument is that we shouldn’t accept that the only alternative to Assad is terrorism and violence,'’ Mr. Cameron said. “We should be on the side of Syrians who want a democratic and peaceful future for their country and one without the man who is currently using chemical weapons against them.”
After a meeting in London on Sunday with the prime minister, Mr. Putin responded in combative style after being asked if he had blood on his hands for providing military support to the Assad government.
“One hardly should back those who kill their enemies and, you know, eat their organs,” he said, referring to a widely publicized video in which a member of an anti-Assad militia appears to bite an internal organ from a dead government soldier.
“Do we want to support these people?” Mr. Putin asked. “Do we want to supply arms to these people?”
The United States has said that it will supply some rebels with direct military aid, and Britain and France succeeded in getting the European Union to allow its ban on supplying arms to the country to expire, despite the reservations of many countries within the 27-member bloc.
On Monday, Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that there was no “palatable option” for dealing with the crisis in Syria and that “extremists” were supporting both Mr. Assad’s government and the rebel forces. The help would go to “moderates,” he said.
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.