Moscow accused on Wednesday, Aug 22 the West of inciting armed resistance to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and said violence would not resolve the political crisis in Syria, RIA Novosti reports.

“Our Western partners have not done anything to influence the opposition and convince it to start dialogue with the authorities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

“They are openly encouraging the opposition to continue armed resistance instead,” the statement said. “It is clear that these methods will not help in finding a political solution to the crisis.”

Since March 2011, the Syrian conflict has claimed up to 20,000 lives, according to estimates by various Syrian opposition groups. The West is pushing for Assad’s ouster, while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in Syria saying the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that a chance still remains for national reconciliation in Syria, despite the large number of opponents of that process including those outside the country.