State Duma to make statement on Syria shortly
MOSCOW. Sept 9 (Interfax) - The State Duma will make a statement on the deteriorating situation in Syria at the very beginning of its autumnal session, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said before a Monday meeting of the State Duma Council.
"We will make the statement at one of our next meetings," he told reporters.
The parliament session will officially open on Tuesday and the second plenary meeting is due to occur on Wednesday.
On the same day, the U.S. Congress plans to evaluate the expediency of the use of force against Damascus.
The speaker said they would "definitely" make such an assessment of events taking place in Syria.
Naryshkin recalled the appeal he made to foreign parliamentarians two weeks ago for making an attentive and thorough analysis of the threats and risks created by the use of outside force against Syria.
The State Duma speaker regretted that Russian parliamentarians could not have a direct dialogue with colleagues from the U.S. Congress. "To our deep regret, our American partners avoided that dialogue. We view that as a weak point of the stance of U.S. Congressmen," Naryshkin said.
Probably, "they either see little [evidence] or do not believe the allegations of the U.S. administration that chemical weapons were used by governmental forces."
Everyone must remember that "a false and far-fetched pretext was used for intervention in Iraq," he said. Naryshkin noted that the situation surrounding Syria remained complicated. "If foreign military force is used, the UN and the entire global security system will sustain extremely serious damage," he emphasized.
The number of countries supporting the use of force is much smaller than the number of countries opposing military intervention in Syria, he said. "I must say that the majority of people in countries like the United States and France actually object to a foreign military operation against Syria," he concluded.
