UNITED NATIONS: Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a
UN Security Council resolution threatening action if Syria's leader
pursues a deadly crackdown on opposition protests, sparking US and
European outrage.
US ambassador Susan Rice said the draft drawn up by France,
Britain, Germany and Portugal -- all angered by the double veto --
had been opposed by countries who "would rather sell arms to the
Syrian regime."
Rice led a protest walkout from the council chamber as Syria's
envoy launched a bitter condemnation of countries seeking action
against President Bashar al-Assad.
Nine countries voted for the text which had called for "targeted
measures" if Assad did not call off his assault on demonstrators,
which the UN says has left at least 2,700 dead.
Russia and China voted against, killing the resolution because of
their veto power as permanent council members. South Africa, India,
Brazil and Lebanon abstained, reaffirming a divide in the 15-member
body since NATO launched air strikes in Libya using UN resolutions
to justify the action.
It is the first Russian-China veto since the pair blocked UN
sanctions against Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe in July 2008.
Russia alone blocked the renewal of a UN mission in Georgia in June
2009.
The European nations have been pressing for nearly six months for a
resolution on the Syria crisis.
In recent weeks, European negotiators had withdrawn a threat of
immediate sanctions and then any mention of sanctions, instead
using the phrase "targeted measures" to warn of action.
But Russia, which has a naval base in Syria, and China have both
repeatedly threatened to veto any resolution which threatens
sanctions.
Russia has drawn up a rival text which calls for dialogue and
condemns opposition as well as government violence. France's UN
ambassador Gerard Araud said however the veto meant that no
resolution could now be passed by the Security Council.
The veto was an "expression of disdain for the legitimate
aspirations that are being fought for in Syria," declared Araud,
who stressed the "numerous concessions" made to Russia, China and
the abstaining countries to get backing.
Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said the European resolution was
"based on a philosophy of confrontation." The threat of sanctions,
which the resolution called "targeted measures," was
"unacceptable," he added.
Churkin said more emphasis must be put on the opposition violence
and launched a strong attack on the NATO campaign in Libya, raising
new fears that it could be repeated in Syria, despite denials by
Western governments that military action was envisaged.
China's ambassador Li Baodong spoke in favour of the Russian draft
and said the Syria crisis must be ended through dialogue.
So far the council has only agreed two statements on the violence
and Rice expressed her country's "outrage" at the result.
"Let there be no doubt: this is not about military intervention.
This is not about Libya. That is a cheap ruse by those who would
rather sell arms to the Syrian regime than stand with the Syrian
people," Rice told the council.
"The United States is outraged that this council has utterly failed
to address an urgent moral challenge and a growing threat to
regional peace and security," said Rice.
"Let me be clear the United States believes it is past time that
this council assumed its responsibilities and imposed tough
targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on the Assad regime."
The United States and European Union have passed their own
sanctions.
Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari condemned what he called the
"unprecedently aggressive" language used by western envoys in the
chamber.
He said those seeking action against Syria were "our enemies" and
had no "humanitarian motive".
Rice and her delegation walked out in protest as Jaafari accused
western countries of "inciting" violence in Syria, causing millions
of deaths in World War II and turned against western action in the
Palestinian territories.
The British ambassador soon followed, leaving one of his deputies
to listen.
- AFP/cc