Russian MPs seek to broker Syria talks

Moscow is a traditional ally of President Bashar al-Assad, and the delegation, which flew in Saturday, aims to meet him and opposition figures, a Russian news agencies reported.Russia cares about the fate of the Syrian people. Thats why we want to find a way to stop a negative scenario developing, Russias Interfax quoted Ilyas Uumakhanov, vice president of the Russian upper house, as saying.Russia is against any external interference in Syrias domestic problems and is ready to assist where it can with internal political dialogue, which should take place in a peaceful atmosphere, without victims, he added. We intend to assess the situation, lead the consultations with the different political forces.The Russians arrived a day after Syrian security forces shot dead at least 22 people in operations across the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as pressure mounted on the regime to end the crackdown.Moscow has refused to support Western sanctions against Assad and argued that equal pressure should also be placed on the protesters who refuse to engage Assad in direct talks. It has repeated the Syrian regimes claims likening protesters to terrorists.President Dmitry Medvedev has said that some of those taking part in the Syrian demonstration had links to terrorists, while another senior Russian official said that terrorist organisations could gain power in Syria if Assads regime is toppled.Some 300 opposition figures met near Damascus on Saturday to discuss the means of ending the crisis in Syria.Under the slogan, no to foreign interference, no to violence and yes to secularism, writer Michel Kilo called for the unification of opposition ranks, and expressed confidence in the nations youth.