Tuesday, January 31, 2012

AT least RUSSIA seems to have learned to fear wars made by any other nation, any other where on the planet: UN resolution could spur Syria civil war, Russia warns

The Western-Arab drive to adopt a UN resolution on Syria is a "path to civil war", Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov has warned.
He told Interfax news agency it would "not lead to a search for compromise".
The resolution is set to be discussed at a UN Security Council meeting on the deepening Syrian crisis.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi will be asking the council to back the league's new plan calling on President Bashar al-Assad to resign.
But Russia had already threatened to veto any such resolution.
The diplomacy follows a day of particularly heavy bloodshed, with more than 100 people killed across Syria.
Activists say more than 40 civilians were among the dead in Monday's violence, but their claims cannot be independently verified as the the BBC and other international media are severely restricted inside Syria.
The UN has conceded it cannot keep track of the overall death toll, but estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since the unrest began last March.
Running battlefield
Syria said on Monday the army had regained control of some Damascus suburbs recently held by rebel forces.
The interior ministry described the battles of the past three days around the eastern edge of the capital as a "qualitative operation" by security forces, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
Troops had "finished off" a large number of "terrorists" and had arrested others, capturing large quantities of weapons, the ministry added.
Activists say security forces have also moved into the mountain town of Rankous, just to the north of Damascus, which had been surrounded and bombarded for nearly a week.
The city of Homs, further north, saw the highest toll on Monday with 72 dead, activists say.
Parts of Homs have become a running battlefield, with the government unable to restore control over several defiant quarters where armed rebels have been increasingly active, our correspondent says.
Activists say many civilians have died in bombardments and sniping, and have also reported sectarian killings and abductions, with two whole families murdered in recent days.
'Lost control'
A Syrian foreign ministry official said of Western diplomatic moves that Syria would "defeat the policies of chaos", state news agency Sana said.
"We regret that those statements are still coming from countries accustomed to making the Middle East a field for their foolishness and failing experiments," the official added.
The plan, proposed by the Arab League, calls for Mr Assad to hand power to a deputy who would then form a government of national unity within two months.
It has been backed by the US, UK and France, but rejected by the Syrian government.
France says 10 of the 15 countries on the Security Council now support the Arab League text. A minimum of nine council members must lend their backing in order for a resolution to be put to a vote.
However, Russia - as one of the five permanent council members - can veto any proposed resolution.
Moscow, which has maintained its ties with Damascus, has resisted moves for a UN resolution condemning the violence in Syria. Russia has a naval base in the country and supplies arms to Syria.
"The current Western draft... certainly cannot be supported by us," Deputy Minister Gatilov told the Interfax.
It "is not balanced... and above all leaves the door open for intervention in Syrian [internal] affairs," he added.
In comments reported later, he warned any such resolution would put Syria on the path to civil war.
The White House said countries weighing their options at the Security Council should take into account that Mr Assad would be ousted.
"The regime has lost control of the country and will eventually fall," said spokesman Jay Carney.
Earlier, the UK also urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition.
"Russia can no longer explain blocking the UN and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," said a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron.
On Monday, Russia offered to mediate talks between the Syrian government and the opposition - a suggestion the opposition rejected out of hand.
The prime minister of Qatar will also be going to New York to seek support for the draft text.
Qatar heads the League's committee dealing with the Syrian crisis and has previously called for Arab countries to send troops into Syria.
On Saturday, the Arab League announced it was suspending its month-old monitoring mission in Syria because of an upsurge of violence.

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