Sergey Lavrov is troubled over news about Syrian opposition

Russia is alarmed by reports that the Syrian opposition is being reorganized around a new leadership opposed to further peace talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. Ria Novosti writes about this.

“New details are emerging – and we are verifying them – that some backers of the opposition are beginning to form a new structure made up of those who have left the national coalition, out of those who do not believe in negotiations,” Lavrov said.

The foreign minister warned that the reorganization of the Syrian opposition could threaten a diplomatic solution to the civil war and signals that rebels might be returning to hopes of a military victory over the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Moscow’s longtime ally.

The second round of multiparty peace talks in Geneva that were aimed at a cessation of the hostilities in Syria concluded on Saturday with no deal reached between the entrenched sides of the ongoing civil war.

Lavrov voiced a concern that the reorganized opposition might be aiming to secure outside military support for regime change, based on the example of the Libyan rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi three years ago.

Lavrov added on Monday that a proposed provision in a UN Security Council resolution to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria without Damascus’ permission would be a violation of international law and state sovereignty.