Putin shoots down PM on Syria: You must not arm fanatics who eat organs of their enemies, he warns
- Vladimir Putin's comments follow tense talks in Downing Street
- He strongly defended Moscow supplying arms to the Assad regime
- Putin also stressed he wanted diplomatic solution to the crisis
By JAMES CHAPMAN and JASON GROVES PUBLISHED: 17:47 GMT, 16 June 2013 | UPDATED: 08:14 GMT, 17 June 2013
Arming Syria's rebels will put guns in the hands of extremists who 'eat the organs' of their enemies, Vladimir Putin warned David Cameron last night. The Prime Minister hoped to get Mr Putin to soften his stance against Western intervention. But in an extraordinary joint press conference in Downing Street, the Russian president accused the Prime Minister and Barack Obama of trying to arm terrorists. And in a blood-curdling reference to video footage of a rebel fighter apparently eating the liver of a dead Syrian soldier, he even suggested the Prime Minister was siding with cannibals.
Warning: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (right) leads Russia's President Vladimir Putin into 10 Downing Street
Mr Cameron was holding talks with Putin on Syria's civil war, a meeting which could set the tone for the G8 summit, with the West at odds with Moscow over how to handle the conflict
Reacting to comments from Mr Cameron that those arming the Damascus regime had the 'blood of the children of Syria' on their hands, a furious Mr Putin said: 'The blood is on the hands of both parties.'There is always a question as to who is to blame. One should hardly back those who kill enemies and eat their organs.'It is hardly in relation to the humanitarian and cultural values Europe has been professing for centuries.' Mr Putin dismissed calls from Mr Cameron and the West to stop arming the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, saying Russia was supplying 'the legitimate government of Syria in full compliance with the norms of international law'.
The two leaders did manage to find common ground, paying tribute to the heroism of the British crews of the wartime Arctic Convoys – as the Russian president awarded them with a special gallantry medal.But a senior Russian source said the talks had gone badly. 'We have lots of very serious disagreements on Syria,' they said – adding that America's announcement last week that it would now arm Syria's rebels had made it much harder to reach a deal. The excruciating press conference came as the policy of arming the rebels came under fire from Boris Johnson, Nick Clegg, MPs and military figures.
Differences: Mr Cameron acknowledged there were 'big differences' between Britain and Russia on who was to blame for the conflict but insisted they could be overcome
Larry, the Prime Minister's cat walks past the red carpet shortly before President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister David Cameron meet at 10 Downing Street
Inspecting the scene: The Prime Minister's cat before President Vladimir Putin and David Cameron arrived
In a partial echo of Mr Putin, the London mayor warned that any weapons sent to the country's opposition could end up in the hands of 'Al Qaeda-affiliated thugs'.He added: 'This is not the moment to send more arms. We can't use Syria as an arena for geopolitical point-scoring or muscle-flexing, and we won't get a ceasefire by pressing weapons into the hands of maniacs.'Mr Cameron has been told by Conservative whips that, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats likely to join as many as two-thirds of Tory MPs in opposing arming the Syrian opposition, a Commons vote would almost certainly be lost. Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg has insisted the idea of a unilateral British intervention is 'fanciful' and Tory MP Julian Lewis said arming the Syrian rebels would be 'suicidal' for Britain.
At war: Syrian army troops patrol a ravaged street in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province
Putin defended supplying arms to President Bashar Assad's government
Half of the ministers in the Cabinet are also against ratcheting up Britain's involvement, while the top brass have expressed grave concern at the prospect of fresh demands on the Armed Forces at a time of a funding squeeze. General Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said ministers must not forget the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan when the UK became bogged down in bloody conflicts.
He warned: 'If we have learned anything from the last few years it is that we don't get involved in another intervention without having a very clear idea of what we're going to do, who we're going to help, what the plan is and what the exit strategy is. Surely we've not forgotten the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan so quickly.'
'The blood is on the hands of both parties.There is always a question as to who is to blame for that.'
Vladimir Putin
There were signs yesterday that Mr Cameron is backing away from the prospect of directly arming the rebels. The Prime Minister suggested the 'greatest assistance' the UK can give is in technical support and training.With the issue set to dominate the G8 summit opening today in Northern Ireland, he signalled that the prospect of him pushing for the UK to arm rebels is receding now that the US has suggested it will step in. He went on: 'I think where we can actually give the greatest assistance to the official proper Syrian opposition, is advice, is training and is technicalsupport. That is where we can play the greatest role.'However, Mr Cameron made an impassioned case for the West coming to Syria's aid.
'President Assad is now guilty of the most appalling crimes against his people – 90,000 dead and some of them through the use of appalling chemical weapons,' the said.'What we all want is an international peace conference and an international agreement for a transitional government in Syria, that the Syrian people can have confidence in, and then elections and a new Syrian government. That's what everybody wants.'The disagreement is obviously how we get there.'Sources insisted Mr Cameron still has hopes of hammering out a framework for a peace deal in the coming days, and co-operate with Russia to ease Syria's dire humanitarian situation.
Arming Syria's rebels will put guns in the hands of extremists who 'eat the organs' of their enemies, Vladimir Putin warned David Cameron last night. The Prime Minister hoped to get Mr Putin to soften his stance against Western intervention. But in an extraordinary joint press conference in Downing Street, the Russian president accused the Prime Minister and Barack Obama of trying to arm terrorists. And in a blood-curdling reference to video footage of a rebel fighter apparently eating the liver of a dead Syrian soldier, he even suggested the Prime Minister was siding with cannibals.
Warning: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (right) leads Russia's President Vladimir Putin into 10 Downing Street
Mr Cameron was holding talks with Putin on Syria's civil war, a meeting which could set the tone for the G8 summit, with the West at odds with Moscow over how to handle the conflict
Reacting to comments from Mr Cameron that those arming the Damascus regime had the 'blood of the children of Syria' on their hands, a furious Mr Putin said: 'The blood is on the hands of both parties.'There is always a question as to who is to blame. One should hardly back those who kill enemies and eat their organs.'It is hardly in relation to the humanitarian and cultural values Europe has been professing for centuries.' Mr Putin dismissed calls from Mr Cameron and the West to stop arming the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, saying Russia was supplying 'the legitimate government of Syria in full compliance with the norms of international law'.
The two leaders did manage to find common ground, paying tribute to the heroism of the British crews of the wartime Arctic Convoys – as the Russian president awarded them with a special gallantry medal.But a senior Russian source said the talks had gone badly. 'We have lots of very serious disagreements on Syria,' they said – adding that America's announcement last week that it would now arm Syria's rebels had made it much harder to reach a deal. The excruciating press conference came as the policy of arming the rebels came under fire from Boris Johnson, Nick Clegg, MPs and military figures.
Differences: Mr Cameron acknowledged there were 'big differences' between Britain and Russia on who was to blame for the conflict but insisted they could be overcome
Larry, the Prime Minister's cat walks past the red carpet shortly before President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister David Cameron meet at 10 Downing Street
Inspecting the scene: The Prime Minister's cat before President Vladimir Putin and David Cameron arrived
In a partial echo of Mr Putin, the London mayor warned that any weapons sent to the country's opposition could end up in the hands of 'Al Qaeda-affiliated thugs'.He added: 'This is not the moment to send more arms. We can't use Syria as an arena for geopolitical point-scoring or muscle-flexing, and we won't get a ceasefire by pressing weapons into the hands of maniacs.'Mr Cameron has been told by Conservative whips that, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats likely to join as many as two-thirds of Tory MPs in opposing arming the Syrian opposition, a Commons vote would almost certainly be lost. Deputy Prime Minister Mr Clegg has insisted the idea of a unilateral British intervention is 'fanciful' and Tory MP Julian Lewis said arming the Syrian rebels would be 'suicidal' for Britain.
At war: Syrian army troops patrol a ravaged street in Qusayr in Syria's central Homs province
Putin defended supplying arms to President Bashar Assad's government
Half of the ministers in the Cabinet are also against ratcheting up Britain's involvement, while the top brass have expressed grave concern at the prospect of fresh demands on the Armed Forces at a time of a funding squeeze. General Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said ministers must not forget the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan when the UK became bogged down in bloody conflicts.
He warned: 'If we have learned anything from the last few years it is that we don't get involved in another intervention without having a very clear idea of what we're going to do, who we're going to help, what the plan is and what the exit strategy is. Surely we've not forgotten the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan so quickly.'
'The blood is on the hands of both parties.There is always a question as to who is to blame for that.'
Vladimir Putin
There were signs yesterday that Mr Cameron is backing away from the prospect of directly arming the rebels. The Prime Minister suggested the 'greatest assistance' the UK can give is in technical support and training.With the issue set to dominate the G8 summit opening today in Northern Ireland, he signalled that the prospect of him pushing for the UK to arm rebels is receding now that the US has suggested it will step in. He went on: 'I think where we can actually give the greatest assistance to the official proper Syrian opposition, is advice, is training and is technicalsupport. That is where we can play the greatest role.'However, Mr Cameron made an impassioned case for the West coming to Syria's aid.
'President Assad is now guilty of the most appalling crimes against his people – 90,000 dead and some of them through the use of appalling chemical weapons,' the said.'What we all want is an international peace conference and an international agreement for a transitional government in Syria, that the Syrian people can have confidence in, and then elections and a new Syrian government. That's what everybody wants.'The disagreement is obviously how we get there.'Sources insisted Mr Cameron still has hopes of hammering out a framework for a peace deal in the coming days, and co-operate with Russia to ease Syria's dire humanitarian situation.
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