Russia: Western countries try to blackmail us over Syria
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday announced there is no change in Russia's position regarding the conflict in Syria. He made his comments a few hours before the scheduled arrival of international envoy Kofi Annan to Moscow.
Speaking at a press conference, the Russian minister reiterated Moscow's opposition to a draft resolution on Syria currently discussed in the UN Security Council which includes the threat sanctions as well as the use of military force.
These threats include "elements of blackmail," said Lavrov, who urged Security Council members to support the Russian draft resolution that imposes no sanctions against President Assad regime. "We believe this approach is absolutely counterproductive and dangerous, because it is unacceptable to use the observers as a bargaining chip," said Lavrov.
"We will not allow the adoption of a resolution at the Security Council which is not based on the Geneva Accord," he warned, referring to the June 30 meeting in Geneva of the Action on Syria Group who agreed on principles a transition process in Syria.
"If our partners nonetheless decide to block our resolution, then the mission of the UN (observers) will be extended and they will leave Syria. This would be a shame," he added.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) considers that the fighting in Syria is a state of civil war. The ICRC has repeatedly asked the Syrian authorities to respect the wounded in the health centers and asked to allow one of its delegates access to detainees in various detention centers.
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I am appalled by the Russian claim of "western blackmailing on Russia" to ditch Bashar Assad. Bashar Assad is an inept leader who inherited the Syrian leadership after the death of his father Hafez al Assad, not a leader who has earned his stripes, or who has been elected by the Syrians to Syria's highest office. He is nothing more than a politically ignorant person like North Korea's Kim Jong-il's son Kim Jong-un who also inherited his father - without any qualifications for high office!
The Russians are just damned fools to stand by such a despotic and hereditary leader at the onset of the Arab Springs. And they are such fools because they have had the clout in Syria to have eased Assad out, and have promoted elections that helped their own Syrian allies to win them! Better yet, if they had initiated it, they could have helped their allies to legally ban foreign money pouring in by the U.S., the Saudis, Qatar, and other Sunni Arab states, and, therefore, prevented the Sunni Arabs from buying the elections with a flood of $ millions into the Syrian elections - as they did recently in Libya!
Now the U.S. and its Arab allies are determined to break the Russian, Syrian and Iranian alliance, and install a pro-U.S. Sunni puppet regime in Syria, while Russia slips in and out of its bravado attitude "The Syrian rebels cannot defeat the Syrian Army," to fiddling with the Cofi Annan Plan, and to lamenting to "the U.S. "blackmail" to ditch Assad! Yes, the U.S. is trying to force Russia to "eat crow" on Syria, and that is what they deserve. Russia lost the chance to lead the change in Syria, and now the gene is out of the bottle!
Nikos Retsos, retired professor
You write very well, sir. But you seem a bit confused:
Putting a Suni puppet in Syria (like in Lybia) was the main goal of Washington in the first place. And "why" is the word you should ask. Since no politician would dare to tell the real truth (oil, resources, Israel hegemony and strategic pipe-line routings), it becomes easier to Russians to say "You cannot invade a(nother) country based on lies. It's enough." Its a matter of principles... and history: imposing "democracy" by force as proved to fail (i.e. Afghanistan and Iraq).
If the US, Israel or the BPritish want to invade Syria - go ahead and do so. But bear in mind you are breaking the only rules that apply to the whole world; the same rules the allies formulated after WW2 to prevent wars and injustice. From then on, there's no morality that can prevent anything any more. Then, you got clearance for nuclear WW.
So, do you still think Russian should colaborate with such lies?
Surprise, surprise.
Russia again says that the U.N. should not boot out Assad from Syria.
And again we are shocked, dismayed and disappointed.
Why?
Russia and China have their own reasons not to lift a finger in Syria -- but we are not waiting for them anymore.
Rather, we will join other countries willing help to take care of the necessary business in Syria -- just as we had done in Libya.
This time around, Russia and China had their chance to be part of the solution. Over and over, they have refused -- less they ultimately rattle their own house of cards.
Fine.
But their inaction has committed them to getting out of the way. They can do so and save face, or that they can continue to be obstreperous and lose more face.
Either way, we are moving forward without them.
As for Lavrov’s claim that the West is blackmailing Russia, most countries see it the other way around.
