Carla Del Ponte, the Swiss special prosecutor who serves on the UN commission of inquiry on Syria, has said that she generally considers Russian intervention in Syria “a good thing”. In speaking with Swiss Public Television RTS on Monday, Del Ponte said that “globally, I think Russian intervention is good, because then someone is attacking these terrorist groups…[such as] ISIS and al-Nosra”. However, she added that based on what is known, the Russians make “a bit too little distinction between terrorists and others…which is not as good”. Through its violent air strikes in Syria, Moscow has been accused by many Western governments of being at least partially responsible for the breakdown of the third round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva last week, and for also targeting more moderate rebel groups opposed to Assad’s government. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sharply criticised the air strikes while on a visit to Turkey on Monday. War crimes report released Del ...
