Italian envoy: Italy, Turkey can together lobby Russia on Syria

Turkey and Italy should closely work together to lobby Russia to reverse its position with regard to the embattled Syrian regime, a senior Italian diplomat has said. Maurizio Massari, special envoy of Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi for the Mediterranean and the Middle East, told Today's Zaman on Monday that both Turkey and Italy have cultivated special ties with Russia over the years, and they can use this leverage to convince Moscow to support a change in Syria. Massari's remarks came after the UN Security Council failed to adopt a strong resolution against Syria following a veto by Russia and China. Massari said Russia had some concerns over the resolution on Syria due to the Libyan resolution in March, which became the basis for a NATO air campaign that led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi despite Russian objections. Moscow claimed the resolution adopted at the council did not authorize a military campaign. "We may find a way to bring Russia onboard with the West on Syria," the Italian diplomat said, adding that Italy would be sending a representative to Moscow to talk over the issue. He underlined that the veto was meant to send a message to the West that Russia wants to play a role in resolving the Syrian crisis. "I think they also realize that [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad's departure is imminent, but they want this to happen as a result of the political process," Massari added. "If both Italy and Turkey would send a similar message to Russia, it may have an impact on Moscow," he also noted. The special envoy dismissed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's proposal to create a contact group on Syria to find a solution to the crisis, saying the Syrian case fundamentally differs from Libya. In Ankara, Massari said he has a couple of ideas he wants to suggest to Turkish officials on how to proceed on Syria after the resolution failure. "Turkey is a very important neighboring country of Syria, and what it does will have a profound impact on the future of Syria," he said.