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http://english.alarabiya.net
Russia must stop providing military supplies to Syria: Arab League deputy chief Russia must stop providing military supplies to Syria, Arab League’s deputy secretary general Ahmed Bin Hilli said in an interview with the Interfax news agency on Thursday. “Any assistance to violence must be ceased because when you supply military equipment, you help kill people. This must stop,” he was quoted as saying in comments translated into Russian. He also called for the mandate of U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to be revised and strengthened, saying that a new mechanism was needed to enforce the plan. “To make this plan work, we need to find a new mechanism and the mandate of the special envoy must be reassessed, so we can be sure that all the sides are observing the plan,” he said. He backed Iran joining the Syria Contact Group meeting expected to be held in Geneva on June 30, while saying that Tehran’s participation was still at the discussion stage. “In my view, all the players taking part in the Syrian crisis must be part of this contact group,” he was quoted as saying in answer to a question about Iran’s participation. Russia has reportedly pressed for Iran to be included in the proposed Geneva meet which will see all stakeholders, including members of the Syrian regime and opposition, discuss a transitional model, based on the Yemen plan, to ease Syria out of its current conflict. British officials quoted in the Guardian on Thursday said: “We do not think it makes sense to invite the Iranians for a number of reasons. We are under no illusions about this and are entirely realistic about the prospects of this happening. It may come off. It could capsize on whether Iran gets invited or not. But it is worth a try given the gravity of events there.” Hilli, however, told Interfax that “the main task at the moment is agreeing the agenda of the first meeting. Then a decision will be taken on who will take part in this conference.”
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