Foreign intervention in Syria unacceptable - General Staff Chief Gerasimov
MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - Stability in Syria can be achieved only through political methods, without foreign intervention, Russian General Staff Chief General of the Army Valery Gerasimov said after negotiations with his British counterpart Nicholas Houghton.
"As to Syria, we wholly support the resolution of the UN Security Council, which aims to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. We also think that stability in that country can be achieved only through political methods, without foreign intervention," Gerasimov said.
Russia will carry on its contacts with its foreign partners and put an emphasis on the fulfillment of the UN Security Council resolution, he said.
Gerasimov said his meeting with the British colleague "was very fruitful."
"We conferred on a broad range of bilateral military cooperation issues. We are primarily interested in the experience of foreign states, which have hosted international sporting events, including the Olympic Games," Gerasimov said.
A British consultative team has visited Russia and "we learned lots of useful things from our contacts," he said. "We are grateful to our British colleagues for their readiness to share their experience in the provision of security of large sports events," the General Staff chief said.
He also said they discussed the settlement of conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Houghton described the British-Russian cooperation in the suppression of piracy and the peace settlement in Afghanistan as highly successful and effective.
