Syria

Russia, China warn West not to intervene in Syria, following U.S. threat

Comment by Russian FM comes after Obama says U.S. forces could act if Syria's Assad deployed chemical weapons against opposition forces.

Haaretz,

21 August, 2012

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West on Tuesday against any unilateral action on Syria after President Barack Obama said U.S. forces could act if the Syrian leader deployed chemical weapons against rebels trying to topple him.

Russia and China have opposed military intervention in Syria throughout 17 months of bloodshed and have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions backed by Western and Arab states that would have raised pressure on Damascus to end violence.

Lavrov spoke at a meeting with China's top diplomat one day after Obama, in some of his strongest language yet, said U.S. forces could move against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he resorted to chemical weapons against insurgents.

Russia and China base their diplomatic cooperation on "the need to strictly adhere to the norms of international law and the principles contained in the U.N. Charter, and not to allow their violation", Lavrov said at a meeting with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo.

"I think this is the only correct path in today's conditions," Lavrov told Dai, who also met President Vladimir Putin and his top security adviser, Nikolai Patrushev, on Monday for consultations went unannounced by the Kremlin.

Lavrov's remarks underscored Moscow's wish to keep international efforts to end Syria's crisis within the United Nations, where Russia and China wield clout as two of the five permanent Security Council members with veto power.

Frustrated by the vetoes and by the refusal of Russia and China to join calls for Assad to leave power, the United States and other Western and Arab countries are seeking other ways to exert influence on the situation in Syria.

No Libya defeat

Obama said on Monday he had refrained "at this point" from ordering military engagement in Syria. But when asked whether he might deploy forces, for example to secure Syrian chemical and biological weapons, he said his view could change.

Russia has also expressed concern about Syria chemical weapons, saying it had told Damascus that even the threat to use them was unacceptable.

But Lavrov said on Monday that the Security Council alone could authorize the use of external force against Syria, warning against imposing "democracy by bombs."

Russian leaders have said they are determined to avoid a repeat of what occurred in 2011 in Libya, when Moscow let NATO military operations go ahead by abstaining from Security Council resolution that authorized air operations.

Russian officials then accused the United States and its allies of overstepping their mandate and using it to help rebels overthrow longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Putin, prime minister then but now back in official charge of foreign policy, likened the U.N. resolution to "medieval calls for crusades".

Russia denies that it is propping up Assad and says it would accept his exit in a political transition decided by the Syrian people, but that his departure must not be a precondition and he must not be pushed out by external forces.

Putin, who has faced frequent U.S. and European criticism over his treatment of dissent, has made opposition to foreign intervention in sovereign states on human rights grounds a central plank of his foreign policy in his new presidency.

China has issued similar warnings to the West.

In remarks at the start of his otherwise private meeting with Dai and other officials, Lavrov said the opportunity to discuss coordination on global affairs was "very, very timely."

Dai, speaking through an interpreter, said he was in Russia for "consultations on strategic security" and had had a "very good, friendly and important meeting" with Putin.

A Syrian delegation led by Qadri Jamil, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, was also in Moscow on Tuesday and was expected to meet Foreign Ministry officials. It was Jamil's second visit this month.

‘West’s chemical weapons talk just pretext for intervention’ - Syrian Deputy PM Jamil

President Obama’s recent statement about a chemical weapons “red line” is just the West’s pretext for intervention, Syria’s Deputy PM has said, also stating that Bashar Assad’s resignation is discussable but cannot be a precondition for talks.

RT,

22 August, 2012

"The West is looking for an excuse for direct intervention. If this excuse does not work, it will look for another excuse,” said Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil speaking to journalists after meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

Commenting on Monday’s statement by President Barack Obama that the US will intervene once Syria deploys chemical or biological weapons, Jamil said that these are statements and threats “linked to the US elections.”

Jamil warned against military action in Syria saying that it is “impossible” because it would turn the conflict into a regional one, stating "Those who are contemplating this evidently want to see the crisis expand beyond Syria's borders."

Jamil also drew parallels between the West’s current focus on Syria's chemical weapons and the situation in Iraq, where the existence of suspected chemical weapons was never confirmed.

The Deputy PM said that Damascus is ready for talks with the opposition, stating “We are ready to discuss Assad’s resignation – but not as precondition.”Going further, he stressed that a discussion about the resignation of President Assad – desired by both the rebels and the West – can only take place after talks start.

“Demanding a resignation before the mechanisms will be found for the Syrian people [to express their opinion] – is this a democratic approach? No, that’s an attempt to enforce a certain decision on us,” Jamil said.

Both Russian and Syrian politicians expressed their hope that newly appointed UN peace representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, will stick to Kofi Annan’s six point plan and the decisions made during the Geneva talks.

Jamil reiterated that Damascus is ready to find a solution to the long lasting crisis.

However, he stressed that he sees a paradox in the Wests stance: on the one hand they are “shedding tears” about the situation in Syria, but on the other they are “putting a spoke in the wheel”.

He added that external meddling in Syria’s interior affairs is the main problem which stands in the way of ending the blody crisis.

Jamil said that Syrian government is working on national conciliation and that all sides should compromise.

As a step in that direction, he said, Syria is ready to grant guarantees of security to opposition activists who have fled the country, but would like to return home to “solve national problems”.

“I would like to tell all Syrians inside and outside the country… We are ready to listen to everyone. Our doors are open for political and non-political leaders, who are now abroad,”said Jamil.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also said he believes that there is still a chance for conciliation in Syria, even though “there are many antagonists to such a solution”.

He said that “conciliation” is the only way to stop the bloodshed and provide the conditions for Syrians to start talks about their country’s future.