Russian Foreign Ministry: Western Draft Resolution on Syria Aborted at UNSC was Based on Aggravating Tension

Russia said that the Western resolution aborted on Tuesday at the UN Security Council was based on aggravating tension and marked with one-sided accusations against Damascus, and implied a threat of using sanctions against the Syrian authorities.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday: ”This contradicts the principle of peaceful settlement to the crisis on the basis of a Syrian national dialogue and could have incited a wide-range conflict and undermined the regional situation.”

The statement added that the Western draft resolution did not include Russia’s proposals that it clearly state that the Syrian opposition abandon the extremists, and the illegality of foreign military intervention.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia cannot agree to a Libyan-style example which is an outrageous misuse of the UNSC resolutions serving hostile unilateral interests to topple regimes.

“We’ve warned over and over again that we’ll stand firm to turning the Libyan scenario into a rule and hence doing damage to the reputation and leverage of the UN Security Council,” said the statement, adding ”We believe that it is important that the world community fully respect the rule of the international law.”

“We are not advocates of the Syrian regime,” the statement added, ”and we see it as unacceptable for violence to continue and we condemn suppressing peaceful protests, but we also cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the extremist opposition is wagering on the protest temperaments of a portion of the Syrians and does not hide its extremist intentions to resort to overt terrorism.”

The statement added that Russia continues to work with Damascus and calls on the Syrian leadership to speed up reforms, free detainees and initiate an effective dialogue with the political opposition and allow international media in Syria.

“We call upon the opposition to take part in the national dialogue as an effective means to agree on democratic reforms and to reject in no uncertain terms scenarios of military intervention,” the statement concluded.

Foreign Ministry: Syria Confronting Blatant Media War to Justify Foreign Interference

On a relevant note, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Syria is facing a blatant media wars controlled by forces that seek to defame Syria and create conditions for justifying foreign interference in its internal affairs.

The statement, made in response for false statements attributed to the Syrian leadership by western channels when in fact they were taken from Israeli press and channels, said that these actions are unacceptable and hinder ending the crisis in Syria.

Russian Parliamentary, Political and Social Figures Affirm Correctness of Russia’s Decision to Veto the Western Resolution

Member of the Russian State Duma and Coordinator of the Russian-Syrian Parliamentary Relations Committee Valentin Shurchanov welcomed the Russian and Chinese veto against the western resolution targeting Syria at the UN, saying that his country made a correct and just choice because relations among countries must be built on mutual respect, acknowledging sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs.

In an interview with SANA’s correspondent in Moscow, Shurchanov condemned the U.S., British and French stances that threaten sanctions against Syria, saying that this would lead to destroying the fragile peace in the Middle East.

He added that the Committee he chairs believes that the Syrians are capable of resolving their problems on their own, stressing the importance of noninterference in Syria’s internal affairs and voicing confidence in Syria’s ability to emerge from the current situation.

In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Central Committee Andrei Filipov said that Russia used the veto to cut off the western countries’ attempt to pass a resolution that clearly aims at interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.

Filipov said that the Russian government continues to adhere to its stances of preventing any intervention – military or otherwise – in Syria’s internal affairs, saying that the Syria people have all that they need to resolve their issues independently.

He added that if the west really wants to help Syria, then it shouldn’t have taken unilateral stances against the Syrian leadership and the political forces that support it; instead it should have directed its attention to the opposition forces that reject any dialogue with the authority and any initiative to stabilize the country.

Filipov concluded by affirming that Russia and China made a correct choice, voicing confidence that peace and stability will prevail soon in Syria.

For his part, political analyst and head of the Russian Associations for Friendship and Cooperation with Arab countries Vyacheslav Matosov said that the Russian veto is a solid and clear Russian stance that represents justice, sovereignty and support of human rights and people sovereign rights.

Matosov said that Russia always makes distinctions between political opposition and terrorist opposition, stressing that any decent human with a conscience can tell that sanctions mustn’t be imposed on Syria as there are armed groups committing terrorist acts such as the recent assassination of the son of the Grand Mufti of the Republic.

He also denounced the political charade performed by the U.S. representative during the discussions at the Security Council, saying “As a former diplomat, I cannot tolerate such a behavior in this form from the U.S. representative in the United Nations… The U.S. representative is not supposed to – even if she’s angry – direct such bad and vulgar language which she used during the voting at the Security Council.”

Matosov stressed that the Security Council resolutions must be respected regardless of whether one likes it or not, adding that such non-diplomatic behavior shows that the U.S. administration doesn’t respect international law, the members of the Security Council or other countries.

He concluded by noting that Russia’s vote against the resolution is a vote against hegemony in the Middle East and the Security Council.