UK accuses Russia of trying to create an Alawite state for Assad

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond yesterday accused Russia of using the on-going Geneva talks to create an “Alawite mini state” for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. He added that Russia is violating international law by indiscriminately bombing civilians in Syria.

Russia and Britain exchanged heated criticisms after Hammond told Reuters that he believed President Vladimir Putin was worsening the Syrian civil war by bombing opponents of Daesh.

Hammond refuted Russia’s criticisms that he was spreading “dangerous disinformation”, saying there was a limit to how long Russia could pose as a promoter of the peace process while bombing Al-Assad’s opponents, who the West hopes can shape Syria once Al-Assad is gone.

Hammond told reporters: “Is Russia really committed to a peace process or is it using the peace process as a fig leaf to try to deliver some kind of military victory for Assad that creates an Alawite mini state in the northwest of Syria?”

When asked if he thought Russia was guilty of war crimes in Syria, Hammond responded: “On the face of it, and you have to investigate these things very carefully, there is indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas going on and, on the face of it, that would represent a breach of international humanitarian law.”