UN chief takes aim at Russia over Syria military buildup

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday took aim at Russia's military buildup in Syria and called on big powers to unite behind efforts to end the four-year war.

Ban spoke ahead of the annual UN gathering of world leaders to be attended for the first time in 10 years by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

"I am concerned by the parties arming and providing arms," Ban told a news conference, adding that such military aid would only make the situation "worse".

"There is no military solution -- only a political solution" in Syria, he said.
 

US officials and sources on the ground say in recent weeks Russia has bolstered its presence, including in Latakia province, a stronghold of the regime and Assad's traditional heartland.

Russia has reportedly moved artillery units and tanks to an airport in Latakia province, along with dozens of personnel and temporary housing for hundreds more.

The military buildup has sparked alarm in the West just as the United States, Gulf countries and Russia were working on a new push for peace, with the UN envoy for Syria due to open talks in Geneva this month.

Ban said he would convene the foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - for a meeting on Syria this month.

He lamented that the P5 were unable to agree on the way forward to address the crisis in Syria, saying that such divisions "make the situation insolvable.