MOSCOW. March 6 (Interfax) - Moscow is concerned about possible U.S. aid to the opponents of the Syrian president, including arms supplies to the moderate Syrian opposition.
"Certainly, we are concerned, especially about the public statements on the intention of the U.S. administration and some other Western partners to encourage … Syrian opposition groups with arms supply," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a Wednesday press briefing in Moscow.
"This is absolutely not what is needed now," the Russian diplomat said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said earlier this week that the international community should help moderate opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He also said that the moderate Syrian opposition should be supplied with armaments.
"We expect the U.S. to stick to the commitments of the Geneva Communique that was issued on June 30, 2012, as "the Bible" of the current stage of the Syrian peace process and a way to the Syrian dialogue," Lukashevich said.
"We think there is no alternative to it. We also think that any attempts to reinforce the opposition with armaments, finance and other material support are extremely dangerous and inconsistent with the interests of political settlement in Syria," he said.