- Russia's foreign minister questions the U.S. decision to recognize the rebel coalition
- Syrian forces have fired at least four Scud missiles inside Syria, U.S. officials say
- Al-Nusra Front claims responsibility for bomb attacks against the Interior Ministry
(CNN) -- Senior Syrian officials have rejected a decision by the United States and other nations to recognize a newly formed opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, saying it does not represent real political forces inside Syria.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad told Britain's Independent newspaper the countries were "recognizing an artificial structure, a structure that will help promote the objectives of the U.S. and European countries in Syria."
His words were echoed by Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoebi, who told the newspaper the U.S. move was as if Syria "had recognized Liverpool Football Club as the sole representative of the British people while in fact it represented very little."
The Friends of Syria group, representing more than 100 countries and organizations, agreed Wednesday to recognize the National Coalition of the Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces at a meeting in Morocco.
The designation immediately broadens international recognition for the coalition and should pave the way for additional support for the rebel cause.
"What this recognition does, I think, is give the coalition more confidence in its workings," said Brookings Institution analyst Salman Shaikh, who attended the session in the city of Marrakech.
The Syrian government remained defiant, however, in the face of its growing international isolation, saying that whatever happens it is not going to lose militarily on the ground.
"I assure you this (move by the United States) will not add anything," Miqdad said. "It is mere propaganda and psychological warfare directed against the Syrians and the Syrian government and is aimed at encouraging those armed groups that have been unable to achieve any real progress in Syria."
Read more: Aleppo Today TV becomes vital news source amid Syria's chaos
The United States sent Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to the Friends of Syria meeting, which came a day after Obama said his administration had decided to grant recognition to the coalition.
At the Morocco meeting, Burns told Syrian rebel leaders that their newfound recognition carried with it the weight of international expectations.
On top of previous commitments, Burns said the United States will provide $14 million for emergency medical care and for supplies to help Syrians live through the coming winter, including plastic insulation, boots and nutritional supplies.
Saudi Arabia also pledged $100 million in aid, Shaikh said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Obama's statement Tuesday came as a surprise to Moscow.
He said an agreement he had worked out in Geneva, Switzerland, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid out a path for a negotiated transfer of power, but he said the new coalition's goals call for it to "overturn the regime, dismantle government institutions and refuse dialogue with the Syrian government."
Previously, several Arab and European states, including France and the United Kingdom, had recognized the group.
Read more: As fighting subsides, Aleppo residents find little left
The Friends of Syria recognition, however, did little to soothe opposition leaders stung by U.S. President Barack Obama's decision Tuesday to list one rebel group as a terrorist organization.
Opposition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib urged the United States to rescind its decision to list the al-Nusra organization as a terrorist group and impose sanctions on its leaders, saying the coalition rejects radical violence.
Al-Nusra is not part of the coalition but has fought against Syria's government and, consequently, has support among Syrians sympathetic to the rebellion, Shaikh said.
Read more: An afternoon with a Syrian bombmaker
As the diplomatic talks were going on in Morocco, violence continued in Syria.
A U.S. official said Syrian forces in Damascus loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had fired at least four short-range Scud missiles from Damascus into northern Syria, presumably at rebel groups.
The missiles did not land on the Turkish side of the border but "came close," according to an official who declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
And as Syrian forces dabble with longer-range weapons with increased lethality, authorities say NATO is also preparing to send a Patriot missile defense system to neighboring Turkey after it made the request at a meeting in Brussels last week.
Within days, the Obama administration is expected to issue orders determining the number of Patriot missile batteries and personnel to be sent, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
Analysts say the Assad government maintains up to 400 of the short- and medium-range Russian-developed Scud missiles, while State Department officials point to so-called barrel bombs -- incendiary explosives with flammable material similar to napalm -- that are now apparently being deployed by the Syrian government.
NATO said Wednesday that the alliance had "detected the launch of a number of unguided, short-range ballistic missiles inside Syria this week," and that the "trajectory and distance traveled indicate they were Scud-type missiles."
The move represents an escalation in the 20-month civil war, which has threatened to destabilize the broader region and draw neighboring countries and militant groups into the conflict.
Meanwhile, Syrian state TV showed images of an explosion outside the Interior Ministry in Damascus, saying it was one of three bombings that killed five people and injured 23.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion killed eight Syrian soldiers and wounded 40. The state-run SANA news agency said two bombs exploded behind the Justice Palace, injuring one person.
Al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the Interior Ministry bombing via its Twitter account Thursday.
CNN's Barbara Starr, Jill Dougherty, Mike Mount, Michael Pearson and David Ariosto contributed to this report.
留言列表