Sat, May 12, 2012
MOSCOW, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council should prevent smuggling of weapons into Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday.
"We believe that the UN Security Council must deal with that problem thoroughly, and Russia has already paid attention to it," Lukashevich said in a comment posted on the ministry's website.
"The international community must build a reliable barrier for those who are going further to pour oil on flames of the intra- Syrian crisis," he said.
Russia has noted that a vessel carrying arms from Libya was detained in Lebanese waters in April, which was not a one-off case, said Lukashevich.
"We many times pointed out that it was unacceptable to smuggle arms into Syria, and warned those who spoke out such ideas of the consequences," the spokesman added.
He stressed that arming the illegal radical groups directly contradicted UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan for Syria.
"This is especially dangerous against the backdrop of intensified activities of elements linked to international terrorist and extremist networks on the Syrian territory," Lukashevich said.
On Friday, the Lebanese army reportedly intercepted a Sierra Leone-flagged ship Lutfallah II, which was suspected of carrying weapons and ammunition to Syria, off Lebanon's northern coast.
