Russia thrust itself to the centre of faltering diplomatic efforts to curb the bloodshed in Syria yesterday, with its Foreign Minister insisting throughout a visit to Damascus that the regime was committed to stopping the violence at the same time as the shells continued to rain down on the restive town of Homs.Sergei Lavrov said once a gathering with the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, that the embattled leader had pledged to speak to the opposition, hold a referendum on a brand new draft of the constitution and expand an Arab League monitoring mission.
Although similar guarantees throughout the past eleven months of unrest have resulted in very little amendment, Mr Lavrov deemed the meeting "very useful". Russia's Interfax news agency quoted him as saying: "The President of Syria assured us he was utterly committed to the task of stopping violence no matter where it should return from."
Earlier, Mr Lavrov received a rapturous welcome in Damascus, with crowds packing the roads along his route from the airport. Buses crammed with chanting Assad supporters sped past with Syrian flags flying from the windows. "We love President Bashar al-Assad – does one love President Assad?" asked a beaming woman of regarding twelve, as she browsed a street stall of regime paraphernalia for one more trinket to match her Assad baseball cap, soccer scarf, T-shirt and badge.
But you are doing not need to venture so much to visualize a distinct Damascus. simply outside the town centre towards the poorer, japanese suburbs that have seen outbursts of anti-regime unrest most retailers were closed. the sole public gathering was a queue snaking from a subsidised government bread search, as residents jostled for the valuable very little low-cost food out there. there have been no smiling youngsters with Syrian flags painted on rosy cheeks. Instead, troopers manned tense checkpoints, peering into each automotive that passed.
Beyond Damascus, the bombardment of the central town of Homs continued into a fourth day, with Syrian human rights teams estimating that another fifteen individuals were killed. the govt has to this point refused media requests to go to Homs, creating opposition and official accounts of events not possible to verify.
Back within the heart of the capital, it's onerous to search out anyone who can say a sceptical word. Their heroes of the day are the Russians and therefore the Chinese, each of whom vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Saturday calling for all sides to prevent fighting and for Mr Assad to cede power. One vendor within the middle of a pro-Assad rally claimed he had sold two,000 Syrian, four hundred Russian and two hundred Chinese flags.
But a bystander grumbled that they'd closed the colleges and bussed in students and civil servants to provide the impression of support for the regime. Another said Mr Lavrov's trip was a waste of time: "I do not believe it'll take us anywhere."
Quite what Russia came away with once yesterday's meeting was unclear. Britain, the US and Arab nations are pursuing punitive measures, slapping on economic sanctions and recalling diplomats as they struggle to forge a brand new strategy for handling the belligerent regime, that in line with some reports has caused over six,000 deaths since March last year.
Nikolaos van Dam, author of The Struggle for Power in Syria, said Mr Assad could also be additional doubtless to yield to pressure from his Russian allies, particularly as a result of they provide Syria with arms.
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