Putin Warns West against Meddling in Syria, Medvedev Still Backs U.N. Solution

Russian leaders under fire for a U.N. veto Wednesday rejected outside interference in the Syrian conflict, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warning against behaving "like a bull in a china shop."

"Of course we condemn violence from whichever side it comes, but we must not behave like a bull in a china shop. We need to allow people to decide their own fate independently," Putin said in televised remarks.

The Russian strongman, who is standing for a third presidential term on March 4, spoke after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for talks in Damascus on Tuesday.

Talking to religious leaders during his presidential campaign, Putin warned that intervention in Syria could lead to a situation similar to that in Libya after the overthrow of its leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"I know very well the quality of the regime in Libya and it was talked about a lot. But today for some reason no one shows or talks about what is happening in Sirte and other cities that supported the former leader," he said.

"Terrible crimes are happening there ... These are the awful consequences of outside interference, most of all when it is armed."

"No doubt we should give the peoples of these countries an opportunity to decide these problems independently," he was quoted as saying, referring to both Syria and Libya.

"Our task is to help them do it without any outside interference," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev later Wednesday urged further efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, including at the United Nations Security Council.

Medvedev stressed "the necessity of continuing -- including at the U.N. Security Council -- a search for coordinated approaches to help the Syrians regulate the crisis themselves" , the Kremlin said in a statement.

In a phone call with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Medvedv said that the crisis must be resolved "without outside interference, with complete respect for the sovereignty of Syria," the Kremlin said.

Russia last week used its veto at the Security Council to block U.N. action on Syria, a decision that Medvedev described as justified, arguing the resolution would not have promoted a peaceful conclusion to the conflict.

The proposed resolution "did not allow us to make unbiased assessments of the situation in Syria or to ensure that the call for a ceasefire and an end to bloodshed was addressed to both sides," Medvedev was quoted as saying.

"Such a resolution would not have promoted the search for a peaceful way out of the crisis."

Russia's top diplomat Lavrov at a news conference earlier Wednesday after his return to Moscow from his talks in Damascus pointedly sidestepped a question from a reporter who asked him whether Russia had asked Assad to go.

"Any outcome of national dialogue should be the result of agreement between the Syrians themselves and should be acceptable to all Syrians," Lavrov told journalists.

All those who have influence over the Syrian opposition forces should urge them to start negotiations with Assad's government, he added.

Lavrov, who was given a hero's welcome by Assad's supporters in Damascus, also said that recalling envoys from Damascus would not help the Arab League's plan.

"I do not think that recalling ambassadors helps create conditions that would be favorable to the realization of the Arab League's plan, he said.

He said the Syrian people themselves must decide his fate and called for Syrian opposition forces to start negotiations with Assad's government to come up with a solution to the conflict that was acceptable to all Syrians.

Lavrov defended Russia's decision to reject the latest draft resolution, saying Moscow had prevented opposition armed units from taking control of more cities in Syria.