OTTAWA – Countries contemplating military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime will forever be aligned with terrorist groups, while Russia’s defiance on action in Syria will put it on the right side of history, the country’s ambassador to Canada said Sunday.
“I still feel very strongly that Americans will be making a terrible mistake by invading and attacking Syria,” Georgiy Mamedov said in an interview on the West Block with Tom Clark. “And I would hate to see the United States playing the role of al-Qaida’s air force.”
With world leaders criticize Russia, saying its government is being obstructionist and holding the U.N. Security Council hostage, Mamedov said he’s “having a very strong case of déjà-vu.
“Ten years ago, when I arrived to Canada, everybody tried to criticize us for being on the wrong side of history during the American invasion in Iraq,” he said.
The ambassador is not minimizing the critical nature of chemical weapon attacks in Syria, but says the intelligence out of the U.S., Britain, France and Germany is wrong.
“Russia is resolutely against use of chemical weapons, but we don’t think the evidence provided to us is sufficient,” he said. “Unlike Americans, our experts have already provided material evidence, both to the United Nations and to this organization that is overseeing the bank of chemical weapons that it is actually the opposition that used homemade (chemical weapons).”
Although Russia’s allegations run contrary to those of other countries, Mamedov said at least he has the same opinion as the majorities in the British Parliament, British public and American public, all who “don’t believe we have sufficient evidence or motivation for the Americans to unilaterally abrogate the United Nations Charter.”
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Should the U.S., through congressional approval, make the “stupid and dangerous” decision to launch cruise missile attacks into Syria, Russia will “feel dismayed,” Mamedov said.
“But like my leadership said, in no way we are going to get involved in any kind of military action there,” he said.
Rather than use of military force in Syria, the best course of action is negotiations, Mamedov said.
“We are prepared to go back to the negotiating table … but of course military action will undermine all chances for peaceful solutions,” he said.
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