All armed parties must cease fire in Syria: Russian foreign minister

CAIRO, February 13, 2012

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that all parties must end the violence in Syria, including from the armed opposition, adding that a ceasefire is necessary before any Syria peacekeeping mission comes into action.

Lavrov spoke at a joint conference in Moscow with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The Russian said his country was examining an Arab League proposal for the deployment of a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping mission inSyria presented on Sunday inCairo.

“We are studying this initiative and expect our friends from the Arab states to provide us with a clarification of certain points,” Lavrov told reporters.

“There must be a comprehensive political dialogue that satisfies the Syrian people,” Lavrov added.

Sheikh Abdullah, meanwhile, said “the Syrian regime does not have the ability to protect its people” with an ongoing bloody crackdown on civilian protesters which has led to more than 6,000 deaths since unrest erupted in mid-March.

By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES