Russia is proposing to organize of a conference bringing
together "all the players" of the deadly Syria conflict, including
opposition groups, citizens and the ruling regime, a top official told a French
newspaper.
"We are proposing to our Western partners the
organisation of a 'Taif conference' between all the players of the
conflict," Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told French
newspaper “Le Figaro” in an article to appear Wednesday.
He was referring to an agreement signed in the Saudi city
that brought the end of the Lebanon civil war in 1990.
"This conference should bring together opposition and
regime figures as well as Christian, Alawite and Druze community members,"
Bogdanov added.
"Given the opposition divisions and the weapons
reaching the rebels, the risk of a Somalia-isation of Syria is real, if the
regime were to suddenly collapse tomorrow. We must do all we can to avoid this
disintegration of a centralised state," he said.
According to Le Figaro, the Russian official was in Paris
over the weekend, where he met French diplomats and Syrian opposition figures.
The Taif agreement was signed October 22, 1989 by Muslim
lawmakers and Lebanese Christians to end the 15-year civil war.
