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BERLIN – Vladimir Putin can expect to face pressure from the leaders ofGermany and France for a change of heart on Syria when he visitsBerlin and Paris on Friday — but there's little sign that theRussian president is prepared to tighten the diplomatic screws onBashar Assad. Putin's meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and, later,with new French President Francois Hollande are part of his firstforeign trip since returning to the Russian presidency. The visit to the 17-nation eurozone's two biggest economies, aftera stop in Belarus on Thursday, reflects a policy course drivenprimarily by Russia's economic interests. Still, Germany and France — both members of the U.N. SecurityCouncil and France, like Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member— will want to bend Putin's ear on the escalating crisis inSyria. Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Syrian PresidentAssad's regime from United Nations sanctions over his crackdown onprotests. Syria is Russia's last ally in the region, providingMoscow with its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union andserving as a top customer for Russian weapons industries. Germany and France are among Western powers that sought to isolateAssad further by expelling Syrian ambassadors after the massacre ofmore than 100 people in Houla, nearly half of them children,provoked international outrage. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said this week the chancellorwould try to convince the Russians "to ensure, like us, that theright decisions regarding the Assad regime are made at the U.N." Merkel herself declined to spell out her expectations on Thursday.While she conceded differences with Russia, she said that "we alsohave a certain amount of common ground when it comes to securinghuman rights and bringing these terrible human rights violations toan end." "What Mr. Assad is doing there can in no way be reconciled withwhat human rights demand of us," she said. "What is happening inSyria is a catastrophe and we will do everything to ease people'ssuffering." Nearly 300 U.N. observers have been deployed around Syria tomonitor a cease-fire that was supposed to go into effect April 12as part of a peace plan negotiated by international envoy KofiAnnan, but the plan has been unraveling amid daily violence. Western leaders have talked about how the Security Council can actto ensure the Annan plan's implementation but, Merkel concededThursday, "the prospects are really bad." On Wednesday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was quoted assaying by the ITAR-Tass news agency Wednesday that "there can be notalk" about a shift in Russia's stance on Syria under foreignpressure. He said Russia's course has been "consistent andwell-balanced." There appears to be little serious prospect at present of anyWestern push for military intervention. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton saidRussia and China would have to agree before the U.S. and othernations engage in what could become a protracted conflict insupport of a disorganized rebel force. And she cited a host ofother hurdles to successful military action. But she was pointedly critical of Russia. "The Russians keep telling us they want to do everything they canto avoid a civil war, because they believe that the violence wouldbe catastrophic," she said, noting they are "vociferous in theirclaim that they are providing a stabilizing influence." "I reject that," she said, complaining that Russia was propping upAssad's regime. Some 13,000 people have died in 15 months ofuprisings. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Modular Booth Systems , Pop Up Exhibition Stands, and more. For more , please visit Exhibition Booth Display today!
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