| ABC News | - |
Russia objected to a proposed U.N. Security Council statement expressing outrage at Syrian
government airstrikes, especially this week's indiscriminate use of
heavy weapons in Aleppo that have killed more than 100 people, U.N.
Russia Blocks UN Action Against Syria Air Attacks
Russia objected to a proposed U.N. Security Council statement expressing
outrage at Syrian government airstrikes, especially this week's
indiscriminate use of heavy weapons in Aleppo that have killed more than
100 people, U.N. diplomats said Thursday.
The statement, proposed by the United States, required approval from all 15 council members.
Diplomats said Russia, the most important ally of Syrian President
Bashar Assad, wanted all references to the regime stripped from the
statement so the U.S. decided to drop it. The diplomats spoke on
condition of anonymity because the statement was circulated privately.
The statement would also have condemned violence by all parties in Syria
and expressed deep concern at the escalating level of violence in the
Syrian conflict, including the use of Scud missiles and "barrel bombs"
in Aleppo.
Russia and China, which also supports the Assad government, have vetoed
three resolutions that would have pressured Assad to end the violence.
They were backed by the U.S. and its Western allies who support the
opposition.
Kurtis Cooper, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations,
said the United States is "very disappointed that a Security Council
statement expressing our collective outrage at the brutal and
indiscriminant tactics employed by the Syrian regime against civilians
has been blocked."
"These barrel bombs — and the explosive materials contained within them —
further underscore the brutality of the Assad regime and the lengths
they will go to attack and kill their own people, including women and
children. ... And regime air raids in and around Aleppo have continued
unabated," Cooper said. "Surely, at a minimum, the Security Council
should be able to condemn such barbarities."
Before Russia's objection was made known, Syria's main opposition group
in exile, the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition, criticized the
Security Council for considering "a mere press statement" to protest
"the latest act of terror" in Aleppo. The coalition also accused the
council of failing "to take any steps to eliminate the use of
conventional weapons that are being used as weapons of mass destruction
on a much larger scale."
In a withering air assault this week, the Syrian government has pummeled
opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city of Aleppo, leveling
apartment buildings and flooding hospitals with casualties.
Rebels say the unusually intense airstrikes in Aleppo have prompted
civilians to flee to the countryside and could portend a government
ground offensive against the opposition-held half of the city, which has
been divided for a year and half by grueling fighting.
The government launched the campaign five weeks before peace talks are
scheduled to begin on Jan. 22 in Montreaux, Switzerland, sparking
speculation that Assad may be trying to strengthen his position on the
ground and expose opposition weaknesses before sitting down at the
negotiating table.
The proposed U.S. statement would have welcomed the Jan. 22 conference
aimed at ending the Syrian conflict and reiterated the council's call
for greater access for humanitarian workers to deliver desperately
needed aid.
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