WASHINGTON VETOS UNSC CONDEMNATION OF DAMASCUS BOMBING

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Libya 360°

Lavrov: Washington Vetoing UNSC Condemnation of Damascus Bombing Indicates Double Standards

Feb 22, 2013

MOSCOW/NEW YORK, (SANA) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the US vetoing a Security Council statement condemning the terrorist bombing which hit Damascus on Thursday stresses that it deals with double standards towards terrorism.

 

Following his talks with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, Lavrov voiced Moscow’s frustration with the fact that all member states of the UNSC without exception were until recently inclined towards the position of condemning any attacks regardless of their perpetrators, place and motives.

 

He noted that the terrorist bombing took place near the Russian Embassy in Damascus and caused damage to the building and claimed a very large number of victims among the Syrians.

“This opposition by our American partners…is not the first time in which they seek a form that justifies those who fight the Syrian regime,” said Lavrov.

 

“Russia sees in the American position an application of double standards and a dangerous approach in terms of the Americans moving away from the main principle of condemning terrorism in all its forms,” he added.

 

He called upon all the parties concerned to be guided by the Geneva Statement issued on June 30, 2012.

Lavrov reiterated stress on Russia and China’s stance which calls for respecting the terms of the UN Charter and preventing military intervention and the use of force as a means to solve the crisis in Syria, the Iranian nuclear file and the situation in Afghanistan.

For his part, the Chinese Foreign Minister said his country unconditionally condemns Damascus bombings, stressing that Beijing supports an unbiased approach towards the crisis in Syria.

 

Russia’s UN Permanent Mission: Foiling UNSC Condemnation of Terrorist Bombings in Damascus Unacceptable

 

Meanwhile, Russia’s permanent mission to the UN criticized the United States for the failure of the UN Security Council to issue a Russian draft resolution condemning the terrorist bombings in Damascus.

Russia Today quoted Russia’s UN mission as saying in a statement that Russia considers the US stance unacceptable, adding that “It is obvious that by doing so the US delegation encourages those who have been repeatedly targeting American interests, including US diplomatic missions.”

 

It is not the first time that the US hinders taking an indispensible reaction by the UN Security Council to a terrorist attack, the statement added, pointing out that the Russian side considers such efforts to find justifications for such terrorist practices unacceptable.

R. Raslan/H. Said

US justifies terrorism by blocking Damascus bombing condemnation – Russia

February 22, 2013

Burning after a powerful car bomb exploded near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath party in the centre of Damascus.(AFP Photo / Sana)

 

Russia has accused the US of blocking a draft UN Security Council statement condemning the suicide bombings in the Syrian capital, which were among the deadliest in the two years of the armed conflict. The US blamed Russia in return.

 

The draft document submitted by Russia was aiming to express condolences to the victims of the Thursday attack on Damascus, which killed at least 53 people and wounded more than 250, and to condemn terrorism in any form.

 

But the adoption was blocked by the US and its allies, which wanted to add language condemning the Syrian President Bashar Assad, a move that Russia could not accept.

 

“Unfortunately, such an indispensable reaction by the Security Council to this terrorist attack has been once again blocked by the US delegation linking it with other questions,” the office of, Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s envoy to the UN, said.

 

“We consider unacceptable this search for justifications for terrorist actions. It is obvious that by doing so the US delegation encourages those who have been repeatedly targeting American interests, including US diplomatic missions,” the statement added.

 

The words are a thinly-veiled reference to the September 2012 attack on the US diplomatic mission in Libya’s Benghazi, in which America’s ambassador to the country and three other staff members were killed by Al-Qaeda-linked militants. Russia’s embassy in Damascus was among the buildings damaged by the suicide bombings, which Syria says were also carried out by Al-Qaeda-linked militants.


Damaged vehicles and the Russian embassy building (rear C) are seen after an explosion in central Damascus February 21, 2013.(Reuters / Sana)

 

Spokeswoman for the US mission to the UN, Erin Peltin, said“We strongly condemn all indiscriminate terrorist attacks against civilians or against diplomatic facilities.

“We agreed with the Russian draft of a statement from the Security Council and only sought to add similar language on the regime’s brutal attacks against the Syrian people. Unfortunately, Russia refused to engage on a credible text.”

 

Opponents of the Syrian regime both among the rebel fighters and the international backers of the opposition have been pressuring Assad to step down. They accuse Russia of supporting him despite the thousands of lives the confrontation has claimed, saying most of the violence is his and his government’s fault.

 

“The problem is that the opposition saying every five minutes that they don’t want to talk to Bashar Assad,” told RT in an interview UN and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.

 

The latest opposition demand for Assad to step down comes in a political statement from the Western-, Arab- and Turkish-backed Syrian National Coalition, which the body adopted after a late session on Thursday in Cairo.

 

The statement was passed after an angry debate, in which some members both Islamist and liberal camps of the 70-strong body criticized their chief Moaz Khatib for his earlier proposal of talks without setting a “clear goal”, as the critics said.

 

“We have adopted a political document that sets the parameters for any talks. The main addition to the draft is a clause about the necessity of Assad stepping step down,” said Abdelbasset Sida, a member of the coalition’s 12-member politburo and one of Khatib’s critics.

 

Russia has on many occasions insisted that the personal fate of Assad is not Moscow’s concern. But Moscow insists that Assad staying in power or stepping down can only be discussed after the violence is stopped and a diplomatic solution to the conflict in found, and cannot be a precondition for negotiations. It offers itself as mediator for possible talks between Damascus and the opposition, including hosting such a meeting in Moscow.

 

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem is due for talks in Moscow. Russia hopes that Khatib will also visit soon in search of a breakthrough.

Moscow blasts US for blocking UN declaration on Syria attack

Russia is disappointed with the US’s decision to block a declaration, initiated by Russia, to condemn a terror act in Syria, where 53 were killed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. “So far all the members of the UN Security Council, without exception, have always resolutely condemned any terrorist acts,” he said. Thursday’s explosion was probably caused by a car bomb that detonated in the Al Mazraa district in central Damascus.

UN must condemn terrorist attack in Syria: Foreign Ministry

Smoke rises from burning vehicles following a car bomb attack in the Syrian capital, Damascus. (File photo)

 

Syria has called on the United Nations to issue a clear condemnation of the deadly attack that left more than 50 people dead in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

 

In letters to the UN secretary general and the chairman of the UN Security Council on Thursday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said the Council’s firm stance against the violent act will send a message to the terrorist groups and those who support them.

“But if the UNSC turns a blind eye to this terrorist act just as it did previously, it will deepen doubts in its seriousness in combating terrorism and its commitment to implementing its resolutions in this regard,” the ministry said.

On Thursday, at least 53 people lost their lives and 250 others were injured in a powerful bomb explosion near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath Party and the Russian Embassy in the capital, Damascus.

 

Following the incident, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the explosion was “carried out by armed terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda that receive financial and logistic help from abroad.”

The ministry further said in the letters that the Council’s credibility of fighting terrorism “is now under unprecedented test as the most disgusting form of terrorism hit the Syrian civilians with no mercy or differentiating between an elderly man or a child.”

 

Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the violence that erupted in Syria nearly two years ago.

 

Damascus says certain Western states, especially the United States, and their regional allies are fueling the unrest.

MKA/HMV/MA

US encourages militants in Syria by foiling UN condemnation

Syrian security agents carry a body following a huge explosion that shook central Damascus, Syria, February 21, 2013.

 

Russia has criticized the United States for the failure of the UN Security Council to issue a condemnation of a car bomb attack by the militants in Syria that left over 50 people dead.

 

Russia’s UN mission said on Thursday that Washington “encourages” the militants’ deadly attacks in Syria by preventing the Council from issuing statements condemning such acts of violence.

 

Earlier on Thursday, at least 53 people lost their lives and 250 others were injured in a powerful bomb explosion near the headquarters of Syria’s ruling Baath Party and the Russian Embassy in the capital, Damascus.

 

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the explosion was “carried out by armed terrorist groups linked to al-Qaeda that receive financial and logistic help from abroad.”

Following the deadly attack, Russia reportedly proposed a statement to the UN Security Council against the deadly incident.

“The text confirmed the unshakable principles that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and has no justification,” said Anton Uspensky, spokesman for Russia’s UN mission.

According to UN diplomatic sources, the United States and its Western allies sought to include criticism of the Syrian army in the proposed statement. However, Moscow refused to do so, the sources added.

“Unfortunately, such an indispensable reaction by the Security Council to this terrorist attack has been once again blocked by the US delegation linking it with other questions,” Uspensky added.

He went on to say that Washington’s efforts to find justifications for such “terrorist actions” are “unacceptable.”

“It is obvious that by doing so the US delegation encourages those who have been repeatedly targeting American interests, including US diplomatic missions,” he said.

 

Moscow has been calling for a resolution to the ongoing unrest in Syria “on the basis of mutual consent” among all sides in the country.

Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the violence that erupted in Syria nearly two years ago.

MKA/HMV

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