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REUTERS
SOCHI, Russia
A Syrian peace conference in Russia was marred by discord on Tuesday after the Russian foreign minister was heckled, an opposition delegation refused to leave the airport on arrival, and delegates squabbled over who should preside over the event.
Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was hosting what it called a Syrian Congress of National Dialogue in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that it hoped would launch negotiations on drafting a new constitution for Syria.
But in a blow to Moscow, which has cast itself as a Middle East peace broker, the event was boycotted by the leadership of the Syrian opposition, while powers such as the United States, Britain and France stayed away because of what they said was the Syrian government's refusal to properly engage.
Western countries support a separate UN-mediated peace process, which has so far failed to yield progress towards ending a war that is entering its eighth year. The latest round of those talks took place in Vienna last week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov helped open the conference on Tuesday by reading out a statement from President Vladimir Putin saying the conditions were ripe for Syria to turn"a tragic page" in its history.
But some delegates stood up and began heckling him, accusing Moscow of killing civilians in Syria with its air strikes.
The incident was broadcast on Russian state TV where two security guards were shown approaching one man in the audience indicating that he should sit down. Other delegates shouted out their support for Russia. Lavrov told the delegates to let him finish speaking, saying they would have their say later.
Several delegates, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that organisers had later been forced to suspend a plenary session due to squabbling among delegates over who would be chosen to preside over the congress.
