Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told leaders of the world’s 20 most economically powerful nations here that India condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere, but stressed the need restraint in initiating punitive action again the Syrian regime till the United Nations inspectors submit the results of their investigations.
The PM articulated his views at a dinner hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night at the Grand Peterhof Palace in the city, the Prime Minister’s sherpa at the G20 summit Montek Singh Ahluwalaia told newsmen.
He has also suggested that any action against the Syrian regime must be conducted exclusively under the UN framework and supervision. He has also argued against a necessary regime change in that country.
Dr Ahulwalia said that while Syria was not discussed at the main conference of the heads of state and government of the G20 countries, but President Putin invited UN Secretary-General Ban ki Moon to brief the dinner gathering on the UN’s initiative on Syria.
The Secretary-General had briefed the gathering that its scientific team had gathered a lot of samples that had been sent to different labs in Europe to establish the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime, labelled as rogue by the United States and France.