Interfax
September 23, 2013
Iraq violence “directly linked” to Syria crisis – Moscow
MOSCOW: Russia has claimed that the current escalation of violence in Iraq is “directly linked” to the crisis in neighboring Syria.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry made the point in a statement issued on Monday in response to a new series of explosions in Baghdad this weekend, which reportedly killed more than 70 people and left more than 120 injured. The most powerful bombing was perpetrated during a funeral ceremony in a Shiite district.
“Such inhuman crimes, in which innocent people die, are resolutely condemned in Moscow. We give our sincerest condolences to the families of those killed, and sympathize with and wish the earliest possible recovery to those injured,” the statement said.
“It is especially alarming that the escalation of terrorist activity in Iraq is directly linked to developments in neighboring Syria, where the government and opposition remain in bloody confrontation. In effect, one can see terrorist groups, including groups linked to Al Qaeda, joining forces, now at a regional level,” it said.
“We reaffirm our solidarity with the leadership and people of Iraq in resolutely countering the terrorist threat. We believe that it is particularly important to rebuff attempts by extremists to exacerbate relations between various political, ethnic and religious groups of the country. We support efforts to solve problems through a broad pan-national dialogue in the interests of all Iraqis, on the basis of respect for the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq,” the statement said.
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Itar-Tass
September 23, 2013
Terror ‘spilling over’ from trouble spots threat to CSTO
SOCHI: The problem of “terrorism spilling over” from troubled countries, including from Syria, is a real threat for states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Russian President Vladimir Putin told its session on Monday.
The group could not turn a blind eye to such a serious problem as affairs in Syria, Putin said, noting that armed groups operating on the territory of that state had not emerged from nowhere and would not evaporate. “The problem of terrorism spilling from one country into some other is quite real and may directly affect interests of any of our countries,” he added.
The Russian president cited the terrorist act in Kenya, attributed to gunmen from a different country, as an example.
Behind the dramatic developments in Syria and Kenya “we have stopped paying attention to other events no less terrible,” the president said. “Another awful terrorist act was committed in Iraq yesterday. Dozens or even hundreds of people are killed there on a daily basis. The situation in other countries of the region also raises big concerns,” Putin said.
CSTO leaders “have things to discuss” at the summit and they needed to think how to “stop the threats that are emerging in the world and directly affect us”.
Putin said the CSTO leaders would issue a declaration on developments in Syria.
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