«Στηρίζουμε τις δηλώσεις του γενικού γραμματέα του ΟΗΕ Μπαν Γκι-Μουν σύμφωνα με τις οποίες είναι αναγκαίο να συνεχίσουμε την αναζήτηση μιας διπλωματικής λύσης στη συριακή κρίση», πρόσθεσε ο Τίτοφ.
Από τη Χάγη όπου βρίσκεται, ο Μπαν δήλωσε νωρίτερα ότι το Συμβούλιο Ασφαλείας θα πρέπει να είναι «ενωμένο» ώστε να αναλάβει δράση, υπογραμμίζοντας ότι βρισκόμαστε «στην πιο κρίσιμη στιγμή αυτής της σύρραξης».
Αφότου ξέσπασε η συριακή κρίση, το 2011, η Ρωσία έχει χρησιμοποιήσει τρεις φορές το βέτο το οποίο διαθέτει ως μόνιμο μέλος του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας για να εμποδίσει την ψήφιση αποφάσεων καταδικαστικών για τον Σύρο πρόεδρο Μπασάρ αλ Άσαντ.
ethnos.gr
28/8/13
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- Russia says too early for U.N. resolution on Syria attack...
MOSCOW: The U.N. Security Council should wait for inspectors to present their report on an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria before considering a response, a senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday.
The remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov showed Russia opposes a plan by Britain to put a draft resolution to the Council on Wednesday authorising "necessary measures" to protect Syrian civilians.
"It would be premature, at the least, to discuss any Security Council reaction until the U.N. inspectors working in Syria present their report," the Interfax news agency quoted Titov as saying.
Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Russia, along with China, has used its veto power in the Security Council three times to block Western-backed resolutions condemning President Bashar al-Assad and intended to press him to end the violence.
The United States and its Western allies are gearing up for a probable military strike to punish Assad, whom they blame for the alleged chemical attack last week which activists said killed hundreds of people as they slept.
Russia says it suspects rebels may have carried out the gas attack to provoke outside armed intervention, and says any use of force without U.N. approval would violate international law.
Russia has also said it will not allow a repeat in Syria of what happened in 2010 in Libya, where NATO air strikes helped rebels topple Muammar Gaddafi after Moscow let a U.N. resolution authorising military intervention pass by abstaining.
President Vladimir Putin and other officials accuse the United States of using human rights concerns as a pretext to support the ouster of Middle Eastern leaders Washington wants to remove from power for geopolitical reasons.
"The West behaves like a monkey with a grenade in the Islamic world," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted.
"Whatever Washington says, the aim of a military operation (would be) regime change in Syria through the destruction of its military potential," tweeted Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee in the lower parliament house.
Russia has also likened Western preparations for a probable strike on Syria to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, when the White House used what turned out to be false intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify military action.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's assertion that the Syrian government was to blame for the alleged chemical attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"It's unacceptable that without waiting for the results from (inspectors), accusations are being made only against the Syrian leadership," Interfax quoted an official in Putin's advisory Security Council as saying. "Where is the proof?"
The official, who was not identified, said a military strike on Syria would be likely to unleash "uncontrollable chaos in the greater Middle East and strengthen the position of extremists and terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda".
The Foreign Ministry, in a separate statement that made no mention of a possible Western strike on Syria, said Russia was taking "all necessary steps" to provide for the security of its diplomatic missions in Syria.
Interfax, citing a Russian naval source, reported that Russia is preparing to withdraw personnel from its naval maintenance and supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartous. The navy and Defence Ministry declined to comment.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said late on Tuesday it had evacuated 89 people who wanted to leave Syria, including 75 Russian citizens, on a flight from Latakia to Moscow. It said the ministry had flown 730 people out of Syria this year.
The remarks by Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov showed Russia opposes a plan by Britain to put a draft resolution to the Council on Wednesday authorising "necessary measures" to protect Syrian civilians.
"It would be premature, at the least, to discuss any Security Council reaction until the U.N. inspectors working in Syria present their report," the Interfax news agency quoted Titov as saying.
Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Russia, along with China, has used its veto power in the Security Council three times to block Western-backed resolutions condemning President Bashar al-Assad and intended to press him to end the violence.
The United States and its Western allies are gearing up for a probable military strike to punish Assad, whom they blame for the alleged chemical attack last week which activists said killed hundreds of people as they slept.
Russia says it suspects rebels may have carried out the gas attack to provoke outside armed intervention, and says any use of force without U.N. approval would violate international law.
Russia has also said it will not allow a repeat in Syria of what happened in 2010 in Libya, where NATO air strikes helped rebels topple Muammar Gaddafi after Moscow let a U.N. resolution authorising military intervention pass by abstaining.
President Vladimir Putin and other officials accuse the United States of using human rights concerns as a pretext to support the ouster of Middle Eastern leaders Washington wants to remove from power for geopolitical reasons.
"The West behaves like a monkey with a grenade in the Islamic world," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted.
"Whatever Washington says, the aim of a military operation (would be) regime change in Syria through the destruction of its military potential," tweeted Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee in the lower parliament house.
Russia has also likened Western preparations for a probable strike on Syria to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, when the White House used what turned out to be false intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify military action.
In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's assertion that the Syrian government was to blame for the alleged chemical attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"It's unacceptable that without waiting for the results from (inspectors), accusations are being made only against the Syrian leadership," Interfax quoted an official in Putin's advisory Security Council as saying. "Where is the proof?"
The official, who was not identified, said a military strike on Syria would be likely to unleash "uncontrollable chaos in the greater Middle East and strengthen the position of extremists and terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda".
The Foreign Ministry, in a separate statement that made no mention of a possible Western strike on Syria, said Russia was taking "all necessary steps" to provide for the security of its diplomatic missions in Syria.
Interfax, citing a Russian naval source, reported that Russia is preparing to withdraw personnel from its naval maintenance and supply facility in the Syrian port of Tartous. The navy and Defence Ministry declined to comment.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said late on Tuesday it had evacuated 89 people who wanted to leave Syria, including 75 Russian citizens, on a flight from Latakia to Moscow. It said the ministry had flown 730 people out of Syria this year.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
28/8/13
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Britain says UN discussion on Syria could take days...
ReplyDeleteUK seeking security council okay to hit Assad for alleged chemical weapon use, while Damascus asks body to probe rebels gassing soldiers.
The Syrian ambassador to the UN lashed out at the world body after the meeting, calling on investigators to probe what it said were three cases of Syrian soldiers coming under chemical attack.
Bashar Jaafari also blamed Israel for “motivating” the US to carry out expected strikes against Syria, saying the turmoil in the region only benefits Israel, which seeks to divert attention from the Palestinian question.
Britain said it would seek UN Security Council backing Wednesday for a measure condemning Syria for an alleged chemical attack against its civilians and authorizing “appropriate measures” in response. The resolution could be used to authorize military force against Syria.
Hague admitted, however, that permanent Security Council members Russia and China are unlikely to back Britain’s resolution. Israel’s Channel 2 reported that envoys from both states walked out of the preliminary security council meeting in protest.
“It is time the United Nations Security Council shoulders its responsibility on Syria, which for the last two and a half years it has failed to do,” he said.
After Prime Minister David Cameron held a meeting Wednesday on Syria, he said the military and security chiefs at Britain’s National Security Council “unanimously” backed his call for action. The council includes Cabinet ministers, defense chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies.
Cameron’s office said the group agreed that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was responsible for the lethal chemical attack last week outside Damascus, which Doctors Without Borders says killed 355 people.
The council also backs the government’s plan for the UN Security Council resolution to condemn Syria and open the door for a possible military attack designed to prevent future chemical attacks.
Speaking at a press conference following a UN Security Council meeting on the Syrian issue, Jaafari said his country was in a “state of war,”preparing for “the worst case scenario,” and that Syria had the right to defend itself against any “military aggression.”
The Syrian ambassador blamed the rebels for the use of chemical weapons, saying that terrorist groups — like Jabhat al-Nusra — obtained the weapons “from outside forces,” like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, and used them inside Syria.
He further called on the UN to allow inspectors to investigate three new sites in Syria where he claims chemical weapons were used against Syrian soldiers.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/britain-says-un-discussion-on-syria-could-take-days/
28/8/13