Russia could veto UN resolution calling for Syria’s president to step down

Arab and Western states urged the UN Security Council on Tuesday to act swiftly on a resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside.
        
The comments were apparently designed to confront Russia over its reluctance to support the resolution and condemn Assad’s government for its violent suppression of the protests.

Diplomats have been haggling for days to find a text Moscow will not block, with a main sticking point being the degree to which it expresses support for the Arab plan for Assad to give up powers, UN diplomats said.
        
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the council the resolution “does not call for military action and could not be used to authorize it.” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe described the idea of such intervention as a myth.

Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said agreement among council members was still possible and the inclusion of some of Russia’s ideas in the draft resolution was a positive sign.
        
“We found some of the elements of our text in it, and this gives rise for hope,” Churkin said, referring to an earlier Russian draft resolution on Syria that had been rejected by Western powers and the Arab League as too weak.

“We hope that the council will come to consensus on the Syrian issue, as is not only possible but also necessary.”

A draft of the UN Security Council resolution obtained by Reuters emphasizes “the need to resolve the current crisis in Syria peacefully” and neither authorizes the use of force against Assad nor explicitly bars it.

A major sticking point is language in the draft that “fully supports” the Arab plan, UN diplomats said. European delegations were prepared to dilute that language to win over Moscow, while Arab and U.S. delegates were less inclined to compromise, the diplomats said.

One of Russia’s leading defence and security think-tanks, CAST, said Moscow could lose billions of dollars in military contracts with Assad if he is pushed aside.

China is expected to join Russia in either vetoing the draft or abstaining to let it pass. So far Moscow has shown little sign of agreeing to allow the resolution, but some Western diplomats say they still hope Moscow will not block it.
        
China’s UN Ambassador Li Baodong said, “China supports the draft resolution proposed by Russia on the Syrian issue, and also takes note of the new text distributed by Morocco in the Security Council.”
        
“China is ready to act in accordance with the above principled position, engage actively and constructively in consultations and work with all parties concerned to push for proper settlement of the Syrian issue through peaceful dialogue,” added Li.

The fate of the resolution depends on whether Russia, one of Assad’s few remaining allies, can be persuaded not to veto the resolution.
 

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