Russia blames both Syrian regime and opposition for massacre

28 May 2012, 17:09 (GMT+05:00)

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The regime of President Bashar al-Assad and extremist members of the opposition are both responsible for the massacre in Houla, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"It is not important to Russia who governs," Lavrov said, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency. "It is important that violence in Syria is ended, and that the destruction of life ends", dpa reported.

Syria's conflicting sides need resolve their differences by discussions, without "outside influence," he said. Russian officials in past statements have mostly blamed Syria's ongoing violence on opposition groups allegedly receiving illicit arms shipments from western nations.