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Putin backs Assad and warns west against arming Syrian rebels Putin backs Assad and berates west over proposal to arm Syrian rebels
(about 5 hours later)
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, issued a blunt warning to the west tonight not to arm Syrian rebels who "eat the organs" of their enemies. A diplomatic breakthrough on the Syrian civil war at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland appeared unlikely when the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, chastised the west for considering arming Syrian rebels, saying they ate human organs. He said Russia by contrast was arming the legitimate government of Syria.
Following talks in Downing Street with David Cameron, he said the brutal behaviour of the rebels was inconsistent with the "humanitarian and cultural values" of Europe. While he strongly defended the supply of arms by Moscow to the "legitimate" government of the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, he stressed that he wanted to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Speaking after a difficult meeting with Putin in Downing Street, David Cameron claimed both men were in agreement on the need to end the human catastrophe of the civil war. But there was little to suggest the two men made progress on how to convene a fresh Syrian peace conference in Geneva, let alone who should attend, or its agenda.
He believed the G8 summit, starting on Monday in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland, was "one of the most appropriate means" to seek an end to the conflict. In icy exchanges at a press conference, Putin said: "You will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines in front of the public and cameras. Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons? Then this probably has little relation to humanitarian values that have been preached in Europe for hundreds of years."
At a joint news conference, Cameron acknowledged there were big differences between them on who was to blame for the conflict but insisted they could be overcome. Putin's remarks will find an echo on the Conservative benches, where there is strong resistance to arming the Syrian opposition. Cameron has argued that it is possible to arm the pluralist democratic elements of the opposition, and he too wants to drive al-Qaida from Syria.
Putin, who has made no secret of his opposition to US president Barack Obama's plans to send arms to the rebels, was unsparing when he was asked about previous comments by Cameron that those who armed the regime had "the blood of the children of Syria" on their hands. The talks followed a decision by President Barack Obama's administration to arm rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad after the US said it had obtained proof that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons. Some of the proof was provided by British scientists at Porton Down, and Cameron has now accused Assad of committing war crimes.
"The blood is on the hands of both parties. There is always a question as to who is to blame for that. One should hardly back those who kill their enemies and eat their organs," he said, referring to an incident when a rebel fighter was filmed taking a bite out of an organ he had cut out of the body of a dead Syrian soldier. Cameron admitted the Russians and the UK held different points of view, but said the two countries would put aside their differences and focus on the "common ground" – organising peace talks between the parties in Geneva. Putin said he fully shared Cameron's view that the civil war could be ended "only by political and diplomatic means".
"It is hardly in relation to the humanitarian and cultural values Europe has been professing for centuries." Cameron added: "We both see the humanitarian catastrophe. We both see the dangers of instability and extremism. We both want to see a peace process and a transition. The challenge for the G8 … is to put aside some of these differences."
Putin has also reacted sceptically to evidence produced by Britain, France and the US that the regime has used chemical weapons – crossing Obama's "red line" for intervention. The Russian leader, who arrived an hour late for the talks, said he wanted to help broker a peace deal for Syria, and he hoped the G8 summit in Northern Ireland could advance that process. Putin insisted his government was "not breaching any rules" in supplying weapons to Bashar al-Assad's "legitimate government" and called on partner G8 countries to respect the same rules.
Cameron has welcomed Obama's announcement, although he has yet to decide whether to follow the president's lead on supplying arms to the rebels. "What I take from our conversation today is that we can overcome these differences if we recognise that we share some fundamental aims: to end the conflict, to stop Syria breaking apart, to let the Syrian people decide who governs them, and to take the fight to the extremists and defeat them," said Cameron.
However, he said Britain would continue to offer non-lethal support to what he called the genuine opposition, saying it was vital to bolster the democratic elements against the extremists. In a sign of deteriorating relations among the G8, the Canadian prime minister, Steve Harper, claimed Putin was backing Assad's "thugs".
"Yes, there are elements of the Syrian opposition that are deeply unsavoury, that are very dangerous, very extremist and I want nothing to do with them. I'd like them driven out of Syria – they're linked to al-Qaida," he said in an interview with Sky News's Murnaghan programme. "I don't think we should fool ourselves," he said. "This is G7 plus one. We in the west have a very different perspective on this situation. Mr Putin and his government are supporting the thugs of the Assad regime for their own reasons that I do not think are justifiable, and Mr Putin knows my view on that."
"But there are elements of the Syrian opposition who want to see a free democratic, pluralistic Syria that respects the rights of minorities including Christians, and we should be working with them – we are working with them. Cameron was also under pressure from his coalition partners the Liberal Democrats to avoid dragging Britain into a military conflict. Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, implied that the case for intervention was less clear cut than in Libya or Iraq.
"If we don't work with those elements of the Syrian opposition, then we can't be surprised if the only elements of the Syrian opposition that are getting, that are actually making any progress in Syria, are the ones that we don't approve of. The shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, said MPs of all parties were feeling unease. "For months Labour has called on the government to answer basic questions about their approach, such as how the prime minister would ensure that weapons supplied did not fall into the wrong hands, and how this step would help to de-escalate the conflict rather than prolong it.
"After all, they are trying to defend their communities against appalling attacks, including, let's be clear, chemical weapon attacks. President Assad is now guilty of the most appalling crimes against his people – 90,000 people dead and some of them through the use of appalling chemical weapons." "The G8 is a key window of opportunity for David Cameron to exert pressure on President Putin and it is vital that he uses the coming hours to do so."
Even if Cameron were to decide that Britain should start supplying arms, he may find his path blocked in the face of strong opposition in parliament across all three main parties. Tory MP Julian Lewis said it would be "suicidal" for Britain to hand arms to an opposition the government admits includes extremist elements.
The prime minister again reaffirmed the commitment wrung out of him by Tory rebels that he would give MPs a vote if he decided Britain should arm the Syrian opposition. He told the BBC's Radio 4: "The reason it would be suicidal would be that in taking over Syria they would also inherit Syria's arsenal of weapons, including in particular the nerve gas which is the centre of so much attention.
"I think parliament should have a say about these things. I can't really go further than that," he said. "In the past we have gone to war because we feared that weapons of mass destruction might fall into the hands of al-Qaida and it would be absolutely crazy to assist al-Qaida to get their hands on the very sorts of weapons we must keep away from them at all costs.
Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasurer, indicated the Liberal Democrats were likely to be wary about arming the rebels. "I have little doubt the prime minister would struggle to get this achieved by parliament, because so many think it is not in Britain's national interest."
"Speaking personally and as a Liberal Democrat, the test I would apply is, is any proposed action actually going to make a difference? I don't think the case is proven yet," he told Channel 4 News.
"We are going to debate that in the government over the coming weeks and we will see what conclusion we reach."
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