Syria

Syria envoy welcomes UNSC resolution

Baqeri_d20130928070929643Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari has welcomed a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council to eliminate chemical weapons in the country, saying it covers most of Damascus’ concerns.

Speaking to reporters after the UN Security Council meeting on Friday, he called on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and the United States to abide by the resolution and stop supporting militants fighting in Syria.

Ja’afari added that the countries supporting the militants should be held accountable if they continued arming them.

“You can’t bring terrorists from all over the world and send them into Syria in the name of jihad and then pretend that you are working for peace,” he said.

The envoy added that Damascus was “fully committed” to taking part at a proposed November peace conference in Geneva aimed at ending the unrest in the country.

The Security Council on Friday unanimously approved the resolution condemning the use of chemical weapons in Syria and calling for their destruction.

However, it does not call for automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government if it does not comply.

The resolution came after days of intense negotiations between the United States and Russia. They had been at odds over Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which regulates the use of military force.

The Western members of the council have been pushing for a resolution on the use of force while Russia and China are strongly opposed to any attack on Syria.

Since March 2011, Russia and China have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions proposed by European states threatening military action and sanctions against Damascus.

The two countries are also opposing the current push by the United States to launch a war on Syria, vowing to veto any resolution that paves the way for the military action.

Friday’s unanimous vote was based on a deal between Moscow and Washington reached in Geneva earlier this month following an August 21 chemical weapons attack that allegedly killed hundreds of people in the suburbs of Damascus.

The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the Assad government of launching the chemical attack on militant strongholds.

Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation.

On September 16, the United Nations issued a report by UN investigators, which said sarin nerve agent was used in the attack that allegedly killed hundreds of people. The UN team’s mandate did not include assigning blame for the attack.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

In a recent statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of Syrian refugees, who have fled the country’s 29-month-long conflict, reached two million.

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