Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov
issued his warning as preparations are being made for Syrian crisis
talks in Geneva on Saturday.
Hopes of a political solution to the Syrian crisis suffered a fresh blow on Thursday when Russia insisted it would not endorse an internationally backed plan for a political transition that would require President Bashar al-Assad to surrender power.
Syrian opposition groups warned that Assad would have to step down and leave the country before they would negotiate future political arrangements.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said in Moscow: "We will not support and cannot support any meddling from outside or any imposition of recipes. This also concerns the fate of the president of the country, Bashar al-Assad."
Lavrov was due to meet Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, to discuss Saturday's Geneva conference, called in an attempt to agree broad support for a transitional national unity government in Damascus that could include anti-Assad forces.
But the Syrian National Council, the most coherent anti-Assad grouping, said it would reject any plan that did not include the unconditional departure of the president, his family and close allies. The SNC position was "firm and clear," insisted spokesman George Sabra. Elements of the Syria-based internal opposition who once advocated dialogue with the regime also now say it is too late.
Reports from Syria depicted another day of violence. Deir Ezzor, in the east, came under tank and artillery fire for the seventh consecutive day in an apparent attempt to take back the only city under almost complete rebel control. Gunfire and arrests were reported from several parts of Damascus.
Casualty levels this month have hit an average of 100 dead a day, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Kofi Annan, representing the UN and the Arab League, is formulating a plan for negotiations between government and opposition that can be presented as a "Syrian-led political process" – language that has been endorsed by Moscow.
The US and Britain say they discern mixed signals and ambiguity in Russia's position. Clinton, speaking in Latvia before travelling to St Petersburg, said: "It was very clear from the invitations that were extended … that people were coming [to Geneva] on the basis of the transition plan that [Annan] had presented."
Lavrov criticised Annan's failure to extend an invitation to Iran, Syria's closest regional ally. "Iran is undoubtedly a powerful player in the whole situation," he said. "Leaving it out of the loop of the Geneva meeting is a mistake."
Saudi Arabia, which is financing elements of the armed opposition, was also excluded from the Geneva event.
Lavrov attacked western governments for "unscrupulous diplomatic practices" in leaking ideas which he said Russia had not endorsed.
Diplomatic efforts should focus on urging Syrian opposition groups to drop their "uncompromising approaches and ... sit down for negotiations with the government," he said.
SNC leaders were meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to go to Geneva before holding an opposition-wide dialogue sponsored by the Arab League in Cairo next week.
The novelty of the Geneva conference is participation by Russia and China, which have vetoed punitive action against Assad at the UN and shunned the western-Arab Friends of Syria grouping on the grounds that it is working against Assad. The Friends of Syria was "not the right format for serious discussion but a tool for generating propaganda," Lavrov said.
France's foreign ministry said the Geneva meeting must "agree on the principles and steps for a democratic transition in Syria, as well as the priority attached to an end to repression and free access for humanitarian aid to civilians".
Underlining its long-standing support for Assad, Russia confirmed it would follow through with plans to deliver refurbished attack helicopters to Syria. "Syria is our friend, and we fulfil all our obligations to our friends," Alexander Fomin, head of the federal service for military-technical co-operation, told RIA-Novosti.
A Russian ship sailing under the Curaçao flag attempted to deliver three helicopters as well as air defence systems last month, but it turned back as it rounded the coast of Scotland after its British insurers withdrew their coverage amid international criticism. The ship returned to port in Russia and was re-outfitted with a Russian flag. It would sail with a non-military escort, the ship's owner said this week.
Syrian opposition groups warned that Assad would have to step down and leave the country before they would negotiate future political arrangements.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said in Moscow: "We will not support and cannot support any meddling from outside or any imposition of recipes. This also concerns the fate of the president of the country, Bashar al-Assad."
Lavrov was due to meet Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, to discuss Saturday's Geneva conference, called in an attempt to agree broad support for a transitional national unity government in Damascus that could include anti-Assad forces.
But the Syrian National Council, the most coherent anti-Assad grouping, said it would reject any plan that did not include the unconditional departure of the president, his family and close allies. The SNC position was "firm and clear," insisted spokesman George Sabra. Elements of the Syria-based internal opposition who once advocated dialogue with the regime also now say it is too late.
Reports from Syria depicted another day of violence. Deir Ezzor, in the east, came under tank and artillery fire for the seventh consecutive day in an apparent attempt to take back the only city under almost complete rebel control. Gunfire and arrests were reported from several parts of Damascus.
Casualty levels this month have hit an average of 100 dead a day, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Kofi Annan, representing the UN and the Arab League, is formulating a plan for negotiations between government and opposition that can be presented as a "Syrian-led political process" – language that has been endorsed by Moscow.
The US and Britain say they discern mixed signals and ambiguity in Russia's position. Clinton, speaking in Latvia before travelling to St Petersburg, said: "It was very clear from the invitations that were extended … that people were coming [to Geneva] on the basis of the transition plan that [Annan] had presented."
Lavrov criticised Annan's failure to extend an invitation to Iran, Syria's closest regional ally. "Iran is undoubtedly a powerful player in the whole situation," he said. "Leaving it out of the loop of the Geneva meeting is a mistake."
Saudi Arabia, which is financing elements of the armed opposition, was also excluded from the Geneva event.
Lavrov attacked western governments for "unscrupulous diplomatic practices" in leaking ideas which he said Russia had not endorsed.
Diplomatic efforts should focus on urging Syrian opposition groups to drop their "uncompromising approaches and ... sit down for negotiations with the government," he said.
SNC leaders were meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to go to Geneva before holding an opposition-wide dialogue sponsored by the Arab League in Cairo next week.
The novelty of the Geneva conference is participation by Russia and China, which have vetoed punitive action against Assad at the UN and shunned the western-Arab Friends of Syria grouping on the grounds that it is working against Assad. The Friends of Syria was "not the right format for serious discussion but a tool for generating propaganda," Lavrov said.
France's foreign ministry said the Geneva meeting must "agree on the principles and steps for a democratic transition in Syria, as well as the priority attached to an end to repression and free access for humanitarian aid to civilians".
Underlining its long-standing support for Assad, Russia confirmed it would follow through with plans to deliver refurbished attack helicopters to Syria. "Syria is our friend, and we fulfil all our obligations to our friends," Alexander Fomin, head of the federal service for military-technical co-operation, told RIA-Novosti.
A Russian ship sailing under the Curaçao flag attempted to deliver three helicopters as well as air defence systems last month, but it turned back as it rounded the coast of Scotland after its British insurers withdrew their coverage amid international criticism. The ship returned to port in Russia and was re-outfitted with a Russian flag. It would sail with a non-military escort, the ship's owner said this week.
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