Russia Denies Sending Anti-Terror Unit to Syria - East Idaho News
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Russia Denies Sending Anti-Terror Unit to Syria

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GETTY W 032012 RussianFM?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1332248638893ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Russia’s foreign minister has denied news reports that a team of Russian anti-terrorism troops arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus.

At a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the reports “fairy tales” and said the Russian tanker Iman that arrived at the Mediterranean port had a security team on board only to guard against pirate attacks as it transited the Gulf of Aden.

“Like any other civilian support vessel taking part in the counter-piracy operation, this tanker is carrying security units that will not allow pirates to seize this tanker or any other civilian vessel in the Gulf of Aden in the event of an attack,” the minister said, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.

On Monday, two Russian news outlets, Interfax and RIA Novosti, reported that the Iman had on board an anti-terror unit when it docked at Tartus, but did not say what their mission was.  The RIA Novasti report was trumpeted with a banner headline on its Arabic language website.

Russia’s position on Syria appears to have softened slightly this week.  On Monday, Lavrov met with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss humanitarian efforts and endorsed the ICRC’s call for a ceasefire.  A day later, he signaled Moscow’s willingness to cooperate in the United Nations Security Council.

Lavrov said his country was prepared to support a U.N. Security Council resolution as long as it did not include what he called an ultimatum for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  Lavrov expressed support for former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s mission to end the violence. 

Russia has vetoed previous attempts to pass a resolution on Syria, saying it does not want a Libya-style military intervention.

“The U.N. Security Council’s appropriate reaction — be it in the form of a statement or a resolution — requires at least two conditions.  The [U.N.] Security Council should not approve them as an ultimatum, but it ought to continue working and approve them as a foundation for Annan’s further efforts aimed at securing reconciliation between the Syrians, the government and all opposition groups,” Lavrov said, according to Interfax.

Lavrov also confirmed a date is being negotiated for a visit to Moscow by Annan.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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