Russia still against UN's watered-down Syria resolution

Feb 3, 2012, 22:12 GMT

Moscow/New York - Russia on Friday rejected a revised draft resolution on Syria that had been weakened to meet Moscow's demands, including dropping a call for President Bashir al-Assad to step down.

The watered-down draft was sent to capitals of the 15 countries that are UN Security Council members for study over the weekend. Moscow's rejection would send the draft back to New York for more negotiations as people continue to die in Syria in clashes between security forces and demonstrators.

'Our position has not been taken into consideration enough,' Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

He said Moscow was ready to negotiate and recognized the value of recent Security Council discussions. Russia holds a permanent seat on the Security Council and could veto any resolution.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the stalemate by telephone Friday and agreed that their delegations at UN headquarters in New York would continue consulting on the draft resolution, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

'We want to see the Security Council speak in a unified and strong fashion in support of the Syrian people,' Toner said in Washington.

A revised draft resolution, submitted to the Security Council on Thursday by Morocco and supported by European and Arab members, dropped several major demands including a call for al-Assad to step down.

The watered down draft dropped major demands by the Arab League and council members including the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Portugal. The Arab League and those countries had called for al-Assad to step aside and fully cooperate with a transitional government.

Those demands, and the holding of transparent and free elections, were stricken from the new text. Another item removed from the original draft was a mention of weapons sales to Syria, and of sanctions against Syria called for by the Arab League. It extended the Western demand for implementation of the resolution by Damascus from 15 days to 21 days.

Russia is a major arms suppliers to Syria.

The Arab League met with the 15-nation council on Tuesday in New York and requested adoption of a resolution that would support its plan of action to end the 11-month uprising, in which more than 5,400 people have died according to UN estimates.

The revised text maintained strong condemnation of the 'continued widespread gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities.' It cited use of military force against civilians, arbitrary executions and killings and persecution of protesters and media members.

It called for 'an inclusive Syrian-led political process conducted in an environment free from violence, fear, intimidation and extremism, and aimed at effectively addressing the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.'

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