1 Jul 2012 11:04

Lavrov: Syrian govt often reacts disproportionately to opposition provocations

GENEVA. July 1 (Interfax) - Armed groups in Syria deliberately provoke the government making it react disproportionately at times, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

"We have plenty of facts indicating that both the armed opposition and those who finance and arm it, sponsor it in a broader sense of the word, do not stand by their commitments and act so as to prevent the pacification of the situation, to constantly provoke the Syrian government," he said following the Geneva conference on Syria.

"Of course, Syrian forces very often react inadequately, disproportionately," he admitted.

"Knowing that certain armed groups and those who sponsor them try to constantly provoke this spiral of violence," he said.