Russia's Stance On Syria, "How Typical!"

Syria: Russia Opposes UN Bid To End Violence

4:16pm UK, Thursday June 09, 2011

Hannah Thomas-Peter, Sky News reporter, New York

Russia has said it is opposed to any UN Security Council resolution on Syria over President Assad's deadly crackdown on protesters.

Foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said the Damascus government must be allowed time to implement promised reforms.

He said: "We do not believe the Syrian issue is a subject for consideration by the Security Council, let alone the adoption of some kind of resolution.
"The situation in this country, in our view, does not present a threat to international peace and security."
The Moscow briefing comes on the second day of Security Council negotiations on a draft resolution, co-authored by the UK, France, Germany and Portugal.
The text condemns the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters, demands an immediate end to the violence, and calls on members to prevent the sale of arms to the country.
Speaking outside the Security Council on Wednesday, Britain's ambassador to the UN Sir Mark Lyall-Grant said: "We believe that the world should not stand silent in the face of the outrages that are happening.
"And we therefore hope that we'll be able to move to vote on the resolution in the coming days."

Syrian refugees wait to enter Turkey on the border

The US has said it strongly backs the resolution.
In order for it to be adopted, nine of the 15 members of the Security Council need to vote yes.
All five permanent members, (Britain, France, America, Russia and China), who each have the right to veto, must also agree.
Although Russia voted in favour of the Council's resolutions on Libya, the country has been deeply unhappy with the level of military intervention there.
The draft Syria resolution stops well short of sanctions, an arms embargo, and any involvement using foreign troops, but Russia is still fearful that it is the first step to Libya-style intervention.
One western diplomatic aide who is involved in the negotiations told Sky News Online the sponsors of the resolution were hoping for a formal vote by the end of the week.

Russia and its allies like India should be pressed on why they aren't support a non-binding resolution calling for restraint from all sides.

Western diplomatic aide

But on Russia, they were "hoping for the best, preparing for the worst", he claimed.
"Russia and its allies like India should be pressed on why they aren't support a non-binding resolution calling for restraint from all sides, a Syrian-led political reform process, and a non-binding call not to supply weapons to the whole of Syria, not just the regime," he said.
"Until now, they've blocked Security Council action on the grounds that it could make things worse.
"Well, things have got worse - last weekend saw the highest level of deaths yet, among both civilians and security forces.
"And there's certainly no political process emerging. Surely the Security Council should meet its minimum responsibilities by taking a position on this?"

Protesters want President Bashar Assad to step down

The aide indicated that countries like China, Brazil, and to some extent India were still sceptical of the draft text.
The diplomatic wrangling comes as human rights groups report the death toll in Syria has passed 1,100.
There are reports of over 1,500 people fleeing the country over the border into Turkey.
Residents in the northwestern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour have reportedly gone there, fearing a massacre of anti-regime protesters following an army mutiny.
Syrian state TV said 120 security personnel were killed by armed gangs. But locals claimed the men were killed after they refused to fire on civilians at a pro-democracy rally.
Activists said elite Syrian forces were heading for the town, while Turkey said it was preparing for a mass influx of refugees.
Syrian troops believed to be led by Assad's younger brother had almost surrounded the town, leaving open just one route to the border, according to activist Mustafa Osso.
A Turkish official said 1,000 Syrians crossed the border overnight, raising the number of refugees in the country to 1,600.
Because most independent media are banned from Syria, accounts and facts are very difficult to verify.