A
sure sign that the West is on the back foot. Hopefully the Russians
will NOT take the bait. This has always been used to allow their
terrorists to strengthen and regroup.
US
& allies will try to get Moscow on board for new UNSC resolution
after attacking Syria – report
RT,
15
April, 2018
In
what could be a surprising twist of events, the trio of Western
allies, who just antagonized Russia with a strike on Syria, now
want to go the diplomatic route and persuade Moscow to back their
new draft at the UN, AFP reports.
The
draft resolution, authored by the US, the UK and France, was seen
by AFP, which reported that
the discussions over the text are set to commence on Monday. It is
unclear when and whether the draft will be submitted to the UN
Security Council to vote on, the report notes, citing "Western
diplomats" as
saying that this time the Western states will make their best to
negotiate it with Moscow.
If
true, it would be a surprising change of pace, considering that in
the run-up to the massive coordinated strike on Syria's military
and civilian facilities on Saturday, the West accused Russia of
being complicit in an alleged chemical attack in Douma on April, 7.
Just several days ago, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley showed
no hint of compromise, as she branded the Russian government
a "regime" whose "hands
are covered in the blood of Syrian children."
On
Friday, she further fueled the fire by saying it was "Russia
alone that has stopped at nothing to defend the Syrian regime's
multiple uses of chemical weapons."
Several
consecutive resolutions on investigating the Douma incident,
drafted by Russia on the one side and the US on the other, have
failed in the United Security Council. While Russia vetoed the
American proposals, its own drafts failed to garner enough votes to
require a veto, outweighed by those of America's allies on the
Council.
On
Tuesday, the Western permanent members of the Council even rejected
what Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia called
an "innocuous" resolution
welcoming the fact-finding mission of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to Syria. That draft "almost
completely copied" an
earlier proposal by Sweden.
The
reported new draft, sponsored by Washington, Paris and London
appears to be no different from the earlier proposals advocated by
the West. According to AFP, it seeks to establish an investigation
into the allegations that Damascus used chlorine-filled munitions
on civilians in Douma. While the OPCW fact-finding mission is not
in a position to apportion blame, the newly-created mechanism would
be tasked with determining the culprit. In line with the Western
claims that Syria has not destroyed all its nuclear stockpiles, the
draft gives the OPCW 30 days to report back to the UNSC whether
this is the case. The draft also calls for facilitating
humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria and a renewal of the 30-day
humanitarian ceasefire outlined in the resolution
unanimously adopted by
the UN Security Council on February 24.
As
far as the Syrian peace settlement is concerned, the draft
reportedly includes a veiled threat levelled at Syrian President
Bashar Assad, as it "demands" him
to participate in peace negotiations "constructively
and without preconditions."
The
US, the UK and France unleashed over 100 missiles on Syria on
Saturday, targeting facilities they claim are at the "heart"
of the Syrian chemical program.
Hailing the attack, which was
denounced by Russian President Vladimir Putin as "an
aggression against a sovereign state," Haley said that US guns
are "locked and loaded," and that it will not hesitate to
strike again in case of a new chemical attack in Syria
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