MOSCOW, SANA_ Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia will not change its stance of rejecting military intervention in Syria because of its grave consequences on the entire region.

" Increasing calls for foreign intervention in Syria imply grave consequences that would damage the entire region," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow on Saturday.

The Minister said Moscow is calling for an international conference “under the UN umbrella” bringing together parties concerned in solving the Syrian crisis peacefully in accordance with plan of UN envoy to Syria Kofi Annan .

He added Russia is concerned over behaviors of influential foreign parties which blatantly support the Syrian armed opposition when at the same time demand the international community to change the political system in Syria.

" For the first time during the crisis in Syria, we hear nervous and violent proposal about military intervention as a result of inciting Syrian opposition groups by the external parties," the Minister said.

He added " The ongoing developments in Syria raise concerns since they push the country to the brink of a civil war,"

Lavrov reiterated Russia's position that it will not allow passing any Security Council resolution that authorizes the use of force against Syria.

He affirmed that Moscow has confirmed information from media parties and Russian experts that horrible acts of maltreatment and terrorism are being carried out by terrorists against supporters of the Syrian government.

He noted that a British journalist has confirmed that gunmen tried to kill him in Syria to accuse the Syrian government of the attempt.

Lavrov said the crimes which were committed in all-Houla and al-Qbeir and other areas and the terrorist bombings which took place in Aleppo and Damascus came in an escalation that has been provided cover by external sides.

He voiced concern that foreign sides are recruiting mercenaries and extremist forces and supplying them with money and arms to perpetrate crimes in Syria and ignite sedition.

The Russian Diplomat said that the armed opposition has not abided by the item of Annan's plan pertaining to halting violence, underscoring how the armed groups were spreading in the cities from which the Syrian Army had withdrawn and were attacking the military personnel and the citizens.

He stressed that Syria has implemented many of the Annan's plan's items and is serious about making a success of the plan, but there are parties that are supporting terrorism and working hard to sabotage the international envoy's plan.

Lavrov said that every time positive results came out, some countries would seek to create the conditions for foreign intervention in Syria.

He stressed that Russia has enough information on who is arming the Syrian opposition and who is sending the weapons to them and who is leading the armed groups and factions and their whereabouts.

The Minister added that the European and NATO intelligence apparatuses have information about the bases of the armed groups' leaderships in Syria's neighboring countries, and that funds were established to support these groups in a number of Arab countries, noting that some Arab countries speak with pride about arming the terrorists in Syria.

Lavrov stressed that there is no alternative to the plan of the UN envoy, Kofi Annan, to achieve a peaceful settlement in Syria, pointing out that there are parties that are striving to abort the plan and implement their own agendas and that putting a time limit for Annan's plan aims at pressuring the Security Council.

He called on these foreign parties to not impose any agendas on the Syrian government.

The Russian Foreign Minister said Russia has called for holding an international conference on the peaceful settlement in Syria with the participation of important regional parties such as Iran, Iraq and other countries.

He added that Moscow is in contact with all the parties and partners to agree on the basic principles of the solution so that for the conference to be transparent and frank.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia does not want to change its stance towards Syria but wants the implementation of Annan's six-point plan, noting that the international conference Moscow has called for is meant to support the implementation of this plan.

He stressed that the conference will not be held under the umbrella of the 'Friends of Syria' group, underlining that this group is not a friend to Syria, but a friend to the opposition parties only. In order for the conference to be effective, Lavrov said, it should include the participation of all the countries wielding influence on the Syrian parties.

Lavrov criticized the Arab League's decision on stopping the broadcast of the Syrian satellite channels, saying it contradicts the freedom of expression and media.

He said there are TV channels that are instilling in the viewers' minds that Annan's plan is unimplementable, highlighting that some international media depend in their assessments on the stances and viewpoints of regional TV channels that have been describing the crimes committed by the armed factions and groups as acts of heroism.

He noted that some of al-Jazeera TV channel's staff have resigned because of the channel's biased coverage of the events in Syria.

Lavrov said that media should play an important role in finding a solution in Syria and not escalating violence and terrorism, stressing that the word might cause fires that could not be quenched.

Churkin :So-Called Friends of Syria Group Doesn't Help in Settling Syrian Crisis

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that the efforts of the so-called 'Friends of Syria" group will not help in settling the crisis in Syria as this group looks for pretexts to topple the Syrian government instead of carrying out the plan of the UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan.

 In a statement to Russia1 TV. Channel, Churkin said "We believe that the so-called  'Friends of Syria" group harms Syria because it seeks to find various pretexts to topple the current government in Syria not to implement Annan's plan.

On the international conference Russia has called for to discuss the crisis in Syria, Churkin said that he believes that there should not be talk about the US complete rejection of Iran's participation in the conference.

English Bulletin