Syrian envoy to UN says General Assembly resolution ‘unbalanced’

The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations says a recent move by the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution against Syria was unfortunate.

Bashar al-Ja’afari said in a statement issued following the General Assembly vote, which was held on May 15, that the UN body had adopted a ‘biased and unbalanced’ resolution.

The Syrian envoy thanked all the countries that voted against the resolution, which is not legally binding, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported on Friday.

On May 15, the UN General Assembly approved the Arab-backed resolution against Syria by a vote of 107-12, with 59 abstentions.

Iran, Russia, China, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador were among the 12 countries that opposed the resolution, while Brazil, South Africa, India, and Indonesia were among those states that abstained.

Ja’afari further said a decrease in the number of states that voted in favor of the resolution, and an increase in the number of those states that abstained showed a growing international understanding of the reality of the ongoing crisis in Syria.

“We rely on the UN and its member states to support Syria and its people against the culture of extremism and terrorism, and to encourage the comprehensive national dialogue to peacefully resolve the Syrian crisis,” the Syrian ambassador stated.

“We expect the UN to carefully read the map of current events in our region away from the interests of certain countries within or outside the region to safeguard the principles of international law and protect the Syrian people’s aspirations.”

Ja’afari also lashed out at France over its double standard policies and said Paris claimed to be fighting al-Qaeda-linked groups in Africa, while it supported and financed the same groups inside Syria.

According to the Syrian envoy, the French delegation to the UN had blocked a number of UN press releases to condemn the terrorist acts perpetrated by the militants in Syria.

Turmoil has gripped Syria for over two years, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the foreign-sponsored militancy.