A Russian diplomat says a Western and Arab-backed plan to resolve Syria's escalating government-rebel conflict has no chance of U.N. Security Council approval because Moscow believes the document does not rule out foreign military intervention.
Russia is a veto-wielding Security Council member and objects to Western and Arab calls for the body to pass a punitive resolution against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian military ally.
Russian envoy to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said Wednesday the Western and Arab-backed draft resolution lacks what Moscow considers to be the most important element — a rejection of foreign military action.
Moscow wants to avoid a repeat of a 2011 Security Council resolution used by NATO to justify intervening in Libya's uprising on the side of rebels who ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Western diplomats who addressed the Security Council on Tuesday tried to reassure Moscow that the draft resolution would not lead to military intervention in Syria's 11-month opposition uprising against Mr. Assad's autocratic rule.
The Western-Arab backed document endorses an Arab League plan calling on the Syrian president to stop a violent crackdown on the revolt, transfer power to a deputy and form a unity government to prepare for national elections. It also warns of “further measures” if Syria fails to comply. Damascus has rejected the plan as a violation of its sovereignty.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Wednesday Moscow wants the Security Council to avoid voting on the draft resolution for several days to give more time for Council members to work out a “universally acceptable” text. He made the comment to Russian news agency Interfax.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the Security Council to act quickly on Syria.
“We cannot wait any longer until a political process is finished, while many people are being killed,” Mr. Ban said Wednesday while on a visit to Israel. “I fully support the political solution of this issue – that is quite advisable. But first and foremost we have to take necessary action so that we will not lose any more human lives.”
Syrian opposition activists say pro-Assad troops battled rebels in mountainous areas north of Damascus on Wednesday after driving the army defectors out of the city's eastern suburbs in several days of heavy fighting. They say several rebels and civilians were killed in the latest battles.
The Syrian government accuses armed terrorists of driving the anti-Assad revolt and killing 2,000 security personnel. The United Nations estimated the death toll from the unrest at 5,400 last month, before it stopped updating the figure because of difficulties in obtaining information.
