Medvedev slams support of Syrian rebels

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev slammed as "unacceptable" the recognition and support by France and other states of the Syrian opposition battling the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

He made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview with Agence France-Presse and Le Figaro ahead of a visit to Paris starting on Monday.

Britain and France have joined Turkey and Arabian Peninsula states in recognizing a newly formed opposition bloc as the sole representative of the Syrian people. Paris has also suggested arming the opposition fighters.

"From the point of view of international law, this is absolutely unacceptable," Medvedev said in the interview at his suburban Gorki residence.

"A desire to change the political government of another state by recognizing a political force as the sole carrier of sovereignty seems to me to be not completely civilized," he added.

France was the first Western state to recognize the newly formed Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and was swiftly joined by Britain, Italy and the European Union.

Paris has also raised the idea of excluding defensive weapons for the rebels from the current blanket EU embargo on Syria and said on Nov 13 that it would look into arming rebels against Assad once they formed a government.

Medvedev, who stepped down as president in May to make way for Vladimir Putin, echoed Putin's statements that Russia takes a neutral stance and is not seeking to prop up Assad, saying that "Russia supports neither Assad's government nor the opposition".

"But ... the question is how right it is to ... decide to support another political force if that political force is in direct confrontation with the officially recognized government of another country. And from the point of view of international law, it seems to me that is absolutely unacceptable."

"Let the Syrian people decide the personal fate of Assad and his government," Medvedev said.

Russia and France have been sharply at odds over Syria during a conflict activists say has killed more than 38,000 people since protests began in March 2011. France and other Western states have criticized Russia for vetoing three UN Security Council resolutions aimed to pressure Assad. But Medvedev said: "Russia does not support Assad or the opposition. We have a neutral position."

He also defended Russian military cooperation with Syria, saying "all we have delivered are arms for defense against external aggression".

AFP-Reuters