Russia, China repeat opposition to intervention in Syria

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/08/245112/russia-china-opposition-intervention-syria/

China and Russia have once again expressed opposition to foreign armed intervention and forcible regime change in Syria.

“There will not be a [United Nations] Security Council mandate for outside intervention [in Syria], I guarantee you that," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of a visit to Kazakhstan, AFP reported.

He added that allowing any outside military intervention against Damascus would benefit armed groups in the country, and that Moscow would veto any Security Council resolution authorizing intervention in Syria. The Kremlin’s stance was also echoed at the 66th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

"We resolutely oppose the solutions to the Syrian crisis through outside armed intervention or any attempt to forcibly promote regime change," Chinese Ambassador to the UN Li Baodong told the assembly.

Russia and China vetoed two previous Security Council resolutions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

On Thursday, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) called on the anti-Damascus rebels inside Syria to “step up military assaults” on security forces.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian government issued a statement, rejecting a report by the SNC, which had alleged that security forces had killed 100 people in the al-Qubeir village in the west-central Syria province of Hama on Wednesday.

“A terrorist group committed a heinous crime in the Hama region, which claimed nine victims. The reports by the media are contributing to spilling the blood of Syrians,” the statement said.

On Wednesday, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said that an “armed terrorist group” had killed a brigadier general and two other members of security forces in Damascus’ countryside, and two others in the western province of Latakia during the day.

Hundreds of people, including many members of the Syrian security forces, have been killed in the unrest that began in Syria in March 2011. Damascus says foreign-sponsored “saboteurs and terrorists” are responsible for the killings.

Russia will veto military intervention in Syria at UNSC - Foreign Ministry

Russia will veto initiative on Syria intervention in UNSC - Foreign Ministry (AFP Photo / Timothy A. Clary)

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/politics/russia-veto-initiative-foreign-560/

Russia is firmly dedicated not to let pass an initiative of foreign military intervention into Syria in the UN Security Council.

“We always said we’re strongly against any kind of external interference into the Syrian conflict, because it would only worsen the situation and bring unpredictable consequences for Syria and the whole region,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.

He also said that Russia is opposing the convention of a new UN Security Council meeting on Syria in the near future.

The UN Security Council president's statement concerning the tragic events in Houla, “is a strong enough signal to the Syrian parties and is a sufficient reaction of the Security Council,” the Russian diplomat told Interfax. Any new measures to affect the situation “would be premature for the Security Council,” he stressed.

China is siding with Russia regarding the Syrian conflict. On Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Liu Weimin confirmed the official position of Beijing being against any sort of foreign military intervention into internal Syrian affairs.

The Russian diplomat commented on the statement of the French President Francois Hollande about possible foreign military interference into Syria.

Earlier, the French president did not exclude military intervention in Syria, saying “Military interference is not out of the question, but only with due respect to norms of the international law, which means a decision of the Security Council of the UN”.

At the same time the French president noted that “another solution” is preferable. He called on for more sanctions to be imposed on the Syrian government. Uniting Syrian opposition is another task he spoke of.

The French position has also been supported by Belgium and Australia

Russia, China veto anti-Syria UN effort

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/202819.html

Russia and China have vetoed a Western-backed United Nations Security Council resolution threatening military action and sanctions against Syria.

On Tuesday, nine countries voted for the text drawn up by France, Britain, Germany and Portugal, but Russia and China voted against, killing the resolution because of their veto power as permanent members of Security Council, AFP reported.

South Africa, India, Brazil and Lebanon abstained, despite weeks of relentless efforts by the Western states to convince them to vote in favor the motion.

Syria has been experiencing unrest in the past months, with demonstrations held both against and in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government. Hundreds of people, including security forces, have been killed during clashes in the country since the beginning of the unrest in mid-March.

Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said the Western-backed resolution was based on a philosophy of confrontation, adding, the threat of sanctions, which the text of the resolution put as "targeted measures,” is not acceptable.

Churkin questioned why there was no emphasis on the opposition-generated violence in the text of the resolution.

The Russian ambassador stated that Moscow would not let a resolution get through the Security Council that could be used as a pretext for military action against Syria.

"It is a conflict of political approaches," added Churkin, who advocated for a rival of Russian text which calls for dialogue but makes no mention of potential action.

Chinese ambassador to the UN, Li Baodong, spoke in favor of the Russian draft and stated that the Syrian issue must be addressed through a process of dialogue.

Since July 2008, it is the first double Russian-Chinese veto at the Security Council.

US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice said Washington was furious that the Security Council could not approve the resolution condemning Syria.

Damascus says the unrest in Syria is being orchestrated by foreign powers and that the security forces have been given clear instructions not to harm civilians.

Syria state TV has also broadcast reports and images of seizure of arms caches and confessions by alleged terrorists, who point out that how they obtained weapons from the foreign sources.

Obama urged not to veto anti-Israeli draft

A general view of the Israeli settlement of Nof Zion, near al-Quds January 12, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161479.html


Former high-ranking US officials have called on President Barack Obama to avoid vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank.

The officials, including a former US secretary of defense, a number of former assistant secretaries of state and ambassadors, wrote a letter to Obama, asking him to instruct US envoys to the world body to "vote yes" on the resolution, Ha'aretz reported on Saturday.

"The time has come for a clear signal from the United States to the parties and to the broader international community that the United States can and will approach the conflict with the objectivity, consistency and respect for international law required if it is to play a constructive role in the conflict's resolution," the letter urged.

The signatories said they were well aware that the Security Council resolution would not resolve the issue of settlements, but said the council was "an appropriate venue for addressing these issues."

They also reminded Obama of his 2009 speech in Cairo where he said the US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements and urged Israel to stop its construction activity.

"If the proposed resolution is consistent with existing and established US policies, then deploying a veto would severely undermine US credibility and interests, placing us firmly outside of the international consensus, and further diminishing our ability to mediate this conflict," the officials warned.

The draft resolution -- which has nearly 120 co-sponsors from among Arab and other non-aligned nations -- is not likely to be put to a vote in the 15-nation council in the near future due to a possible US veto.

The draft says that "Israeli settlements established in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East [al-Quds] Jerusalem, are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to the achievement of a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace."

Israel's persistent construction in the occupied West Bank is seen as the main bone of contention between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and is blamed for derailing several rounds of talks between the two sides.