Arab states offer to pay Syrian rebels

The countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, made the offer on Sunday at an Istanbul conference of the “Friends of Syria”, a grouping of some 70 Western and Arab countries, which Damascus calls the “enemies of Syria”.

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said that rebels would be paid to fight against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Money will also be provided to soldiers who defect from the government’s army, the SNC added.

The two veto-holding members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China, as well as Iraq, the presiding member of the Arab League, have boycotted the Istanbul talks.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters in Moscow that the “Friends of Syria” conference does not seek a settlement in Syria, but desires to prepare the stage for an intervention.

“Its participants are not looking for dialogue that could put an end to the conflict, on the contrary, it may pave the way for external interference,” Lukashevich said.

Syria has blamed outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist gangs for the unrest in the country, asserting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the Syrian government of killing protesters.

GJH/MF/MA

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