During tense debate at UN in New York, Moscow says it will oppose 'meddling' attempt to force Assad to resign
Miriam Elder in Moscow, Martin Chulov in Beirut and Ian Black, and Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian,
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Article history
Syria's opposition calls on UN to denounce Assad. Link to this video Russia has declared its intention to scupper any attempt to force President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to step down, denouncing a push for a new United Nations security council resolution backed by the US and UK as "meddling" that could lead to conflict and military intervention.
In outspoken comments to a packed security council in New York, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, was scathing about efforts led by the Arab League and backed by Washington, Paris and London to secure a new resolution that would call on Assad to stand aside.
"The international community should not be meddling in economic sanctions or through the use of military force. We will not stand for any sanctions resolution or using the council's tool box to foment conflict and military intervention in the future," Churkin said.
Russia's contribution, together with a statement from the Assad regime itself, stood in stark contrast to a virtually unified voice from security council members who lined up to decry the violence in Syria that the UN says has claimed at least 5,400 lives over the past 10 months.
Speaking after the meeting, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, responded to Russia's discordant note by insisting there was no intention "to pursue any kind of military intervention. This is a crisis that should be resolved peacefully".
She said she would be speaking to the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who had been expected to attend the meeting but was pointedly absent.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, also emphasised the peaceful nature of the joint resolution, rebutting claims by the Syrian ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, that it was an attempt to reimpose colonialism on the region.
"This is not the west telling Syria what to do," Hague said. "It is not the permanent members of the UN security council imposing their view. This is the Arab world calling on the UN security council to help address the crisis in Syria and the threat which it poses to the stability of their region."
Hague also stressed that the UN text did not call for western or Arab military intervention, unlike last year's resolution on Libya, which led eventually to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and which still rankles with Russia.
The draft expresses "grave concern" over the bloodshed, and "the continued transfer of weapons into Syria, which fuels the violence", and calls on member states "to take necessary steps to prevent such flow of arms" – a clear message to Moscow, Assad's principal supporter on the world stage and main source of arms.
"The resolution does not call for military action and could not be used to authorise it," Hague said. But he went on to warn Assad that "measures will be considered by this council if there is not an immediate end to the violence".
Speaking for the Syrian regime, Ja'afari launched a salvo against the Arab League, which he accused of violating its own founding principles by turning for help to the UN security council, which had been the source of "hundreds of vetos against Arab causes".
Russia's unbending opposition to a resolution now paves the way for a protracted round of closed-door negotiations over the next 24 hours in New York. Analysts and diplomats say Russia could yet soften its stance by abstaining or, much less likely, voting for the draft – if a clause banning the use of force were introduced.
The draft currently emphasises "the need to resolve the current crisis in Syria peacefully" but does not explicitly exclude future military action. Negotiations are to be held today ahead of a vote tomorrow. China, which also has a veto, would probably follow Russia.
The fight over dealing with Syria is a perfect cauldron of Russia's main foreign policy concerns: anger at what it sees as a unipolar world led by the United States, a belief in the inviolability of national sovereignty, and an attempt to hold on to Soviet-era allies and customers that are increasingly few in number.
The main official narrative inside Russia continues to be that the popular uprisings across the Middle East, like Russia's own protests, are a US-led plot to gain influence and resources.
On the ground in Syria, meanwhile, government forces continued a campaign to reclaim pockets of Damascus from rebel groups which had briefly seized them – producing dramatic and morale-boosting TV pictures for the rebels but possibly a distorted image of the true balance of forces in the country of 23 million people.
The sound of artillery and gunfire thundered throughout the afternoon in the areas of Kfar Badna and Saqba as irregulars fought street battles with loyalist forces who had earlier retaken contested areas in northern Damascus.
Several dozen tanks were seen moving towards the east of the capital in the afternoon, until the past weekend a rare sight in the heart of the regime's power base.
Opposition groups remain vastly outnumbered and outgunned in Damascus, but say they have opened up a guerrilla campaign aimed at wearing down the loyalist military.
So far there is little sign of that happening in the capital, which remains under the regime's control and is heavily guarded by security forces whose senior ranks remain solidly supportive of Assad.
However, the embattled president's troops continue to fight a more organised opposition in the country's fourth city, Homs, where tanks and artillery were again firing intensively into the rebel-held Bab al-Amr district. Residents of Homs, the frontline of an armed insurgency against the Assad family's four-decade rule, say neighbourhoods are fast being emptied of families whom loyalists suspect of supporting the rebellion.
They described dire living conditions, with poor sanitation and streets that are regularly raked by gunfire.
Over the past week, Syria has intensified its crackdown against what is now a full blown insurgency in many parts. The nearby city of Hama has seen renewed violence, although residents said the military had now pulled back to the city limits after four days of arrests and incursions.
"There are many families homeless here and many homes destroyed," said Manhal Abo Bakr, a resident of Hama and a citizen journalist for the global campaigning group Avaaz. Hama was the scene of a brutal massacre carried out by Assad's father, Hafez, in 1982, when he claimed to have been targeting Sunni extremists who were plotting against him.
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