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Russia rejects use of force in UN resolution
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Russia insisted yesterday that a new Security Council resolution on Syria not allow the use of force, while the Arab country’s main opposition group demanded a swift international response following a UN report confirming chemical weapons were used outside Damascus last month.
In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia “spoke clearly” about rejecting the use of force when the agreement on Syria abandoning its chemical weapons was worked out in Geneva between US and Russian envoys.
But if signs emerge that Syria is not fulfilling the agreement or there are reports of further chemical weapons use, “then the Security Council will examine the situation,” Lavrov said at a news conference with French counterpart Laurent Fabius.
France and the United States say a military option remains on the table and are pushing for the UN resolution to reflect that.
The meeting in Moscow came a day after UN inspectors submitted their report on the August 21 chemical weapons attack that precipitated heightened tensions over Syria. It was the first official confirmation by impartial experts that chemical weapons were used in the attack near Damascus which killed hundreds of people.
Although the report confirmed chemical weapons were used, it did not say who used them — and Lavrov and Fabius differed sharply on their interpretations.
“The report exposes the regime,” Fabius said. “On the basis of the information of our external agents, we consider that the report proves the responsibility of the regime for the chemical weapons attack of August 21.”
The US, Britain and France jumped on evidence in the report — especially the type of rockets, the composition of the sarin agent, and trajectory of the missiles — to declare that President Bashar Assad’s government was responsible. Russia disagreed.
Lavrov said Russia has “serious reason to suggest this was a provocation” by rebels fighting Assad’s forces.
In Damascus, the foreign ministry slammed the US, British and French foreign ministers, accusing them of trying to impose their agenda on the Syrian people. Its statement came in response to recent demands by the three ministers that Assad step down even as the West increases efforts to bring the sides to an international peace conference.
Earlier yesterday, the Syrian military accused Turkey of seeking to escalate tensions along the border by shooting down a Syrian military helicopter the day before. The military said the helicopter was monitoring cross-border infiltration of rebels when it “mistakenly” entered Turkish airspace.
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