MOSCOW, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States, supported by Britain and France, wants to push forward an "illogical" UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Syria, a high-ranking Russian diplomat said Tuesday.
The UNSC resolution must confirm the decision of the executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "without adopting Chapter VII of the UN Charter," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the State Duma.
Chapter VII says the Security Council may authorize military force if other sanctions prove ineffective "to maintain or restore international peace and security."
"Chapter VII could be mentioned only in connection with a set of measures against violators in case a refusal from cooperation with the OPCW ... or use of chemical weapons," the Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.
Moscow insists there should be no mention of the use of force against Damascus, nor of automatic imposing of sanctions against the Syrian regime, in the UNSC resolution under discussion.
He expressed hope that the text of the UNSC resolution intended to support OPCW efforts would be agreed upon this week, "although there's no 100-percent guarantee."
The diplomat warned that aggression against Syria has been so far postponed, but not completely eliminated.
He noted that contacts between Moscow and Washington were not proceeding smoothly and the two sides "haven't made even half the step yet."
"The U.S. agreed on compromise over chemical weapons, but they keep insisting that Syrian regime is guilty," he said, adding that Washington did not present comprehensive proof but "constantly make reservations that the plans to punish Damascus remain in force."
Hailing the UN expert mission due to leave for Damascus on Wednesday, Ryabkov said Moscow hopes "they will go to the places that they had no time to inspect during the previous visits for some reasons."
He also slammed the Syrian hardline opposition for being unwilling to look for a peaceful solution to the domestic conflict.
The response of the National Coalition to the Russia-U.S. agreement to place Syrian chemical weapons under international control, followed by their destruction, demonstrated that the opposition is only interested in the forceful removal of the President Bashar al-Assad, the diplomat said.
Ryabkov will attend a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe next week in France's Strasbourg, where the Syrian crisis is on the agenda.
|
