Sep 27, 2011 —
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has criticized a draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria proposed by Western countries, describing it as a provocation with unpredictable consequences.
Mr. Lavrov’s statement came in his interview for the Rossiya 24 TV channel on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York with the situation in the Middle East, the Palestinian statehood bid and the developments in Syria high on the international agenda.
Mr. Lavrov made clear that Russia would not support the draft resolution on new sanctions against Syrian leaders, all the more so since the authors of the document acknowledged that they had not calculated further moves, their main aim being to force President Bashar Assad to step down. As for what will happen afterwards, this is something the West prefers not to think about, an approach that cannot be justified. Syria has numerous ethnic and religious communities. The situation in Syria influences neighboring countries, for example Lebanon. Pushing for sanctions and not thinking about the consequences is irresponsible, Mr. Lavrov said:
“The opposition is looking toward the West. Hearing statements that Assad is illegitimate and that he must go, it gets the impression that it needs to hold out just a little bit more, rejecting everything proposed by Assad and relying on Western help. This is a provocation with very harmful and unpredictable consequences. President Assad, thanks to the work conducted by the Russian leadership and the League of Arab States, launched concrete reforms, although somewhat belatedly. The laws on political parties, local self-government and mass media were adopted and all opposition forces were invited to engage in national dialogue.”
Moscow’s position is reflected in an alternative draft resolution on Syria, which calls on the Syrian government and the opposition to abandon violence and begin talks.
The lessons of the Libyan crisis when the Western coalition openly breached the UN Security Council resolution on a no-fly zone over Libya have prompted the UN Security Council to take a cautious stance toward Syria and the Palestinian issue.
On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted Palestine’s formal bid for statehood to the Security Council despite threats from the United States to veto it. Washington thus got itself in an awkward situation:
“The Americans do not want being forced to use veto. One can understand them. They do not want to appear in the negative light in the eyes of the Arabs and the entire Muslim world. But one can understand the Palestinians either because things have been moving nowhere. The earlier promises, including President Obama’s statement at last year’s General Assembly that we will be admitting Palestine into the UN in a year – remained just words.”
If Washington uses the right of veto, the Palestinians will take their bid directly to the General Assembly where they are likely to secure support. But the assembly can only grant Palestine an observer status. Things will become clear when the Security Council meets tomorrow to vote on the issue.