Feb. 28 (UPI) -- China and Russia on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. sanctions resolution against Syrian leadership.
The U.N. Security Council draft resolution, written by the United States, Britain and France,
called for sanctions against 11 Syrian nationals and 10 entities connected to chemical attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015.
"In terms of sanctions against the Syrian leadership, I think that
now they are completely inappropriate. This would not help the
negotiation process but would only interfere or undermine confidence,"
Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a meeting in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan. "Russia will not support any new sanctions in relation to
Syria."
Putin added that he was pleased with the conclusion of talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, which
arranged a cease-fire
and monitoring protocols in Syria, but acknowledged that U.N.-brokered
peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, are "not going as smoothly as
hoped."
Russia's military involvement in Syria was instrumental in the
survival of the Syrian government after six years of a civil war.
Russian representatives are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Geneva with
the High Negotiations Committee, the umbrella group of remaining Syrian
anti-government groups.
Traveling with Putin, Gennady Gatilov, deputy foreign minister,
offered optimism
about the Geneva talks, saying, "Let's hope that in this round we will
be able to move forward on the path towards a solution to the crisis in
Syria. I don't know what they [the High Negotiating Committee] are going
to insist on. That is why we are going to meet them, to know their
position."
No comments:
Post a Comment