Another attempt by the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria at the end of last week failed. Russia and China vetoed it, to prevent an unbalanced resolution being adopted. Russian diplomats, including Sergey Lavrov and Vitaly Churkin, clearly signaled that they won’t let the Security Council adopt the resolution, which could be grounds for a repeat of the Libyan variant in Syria, i.e. foreign interference. Russia, which signed multi-million contracts with Damascus on armament export, is not interested in launching sanctions against the ruling regime. One more important contradiction between Russia and the West is that Moscow wants to lay blame for violence in Syria on both the Syrian opposition and the government of Bashar Assad, while the proposed resolution put all responsibility for the ruling regime only. During the negotiations the Russian side insisted on removing the item on the resignation of the Syrian president. It was proposed to discuss the regime through talks, without threats or launching sanctions.
However, Russia24 reported that the foreign minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, explained that the proposed project still contains some moments which “should be specified and corrected.” According to him, today there are two groups of problems. “The first concerns requirements for the regime. For example, the wide list of requirements includes one which says the Syrian government should withdraw its security forces from all cities and villages. We added an absolutely natural amendment to the item: it should be implemented along with a cessation of violence by military groups,” Lavrov said. He added that it seems to be an appeal to the government to leave cities and villages unilaterally. “It means the UN Security Council is trying to adopt an unrealistic resolution: no leader would abandon cities to illegal armed groups. Or it means that the Security Council is suggesting taking part in a civil war on one specific side,” Lavrov thinks.
Ahead of voting he warned the Security Council there would be a row if the resolution would be put to the vote. And a row broke out. Susan Rice, the US president's representative at the UN, reacted sharply to the decision by Russia and China: “We are disgusted by some members of the Security Council, which are not letting us fulfil our duty. This Council (the UN SC) is a victim of two countries, which are thinking about their interests only.” The General Secretary of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, criticized the position of both Russia and China. The Syrian opposition speaks about a “license to murder” for the regime of Assad, given by Russia (China is not mentioned again).
It is obvious that the West and Moscow are mostly concerned with the balance of responsibility. In big politics the moral side of an issue often pales into insignificance, when it comes to providing interests of some countries of alliances. While the West blames Moscow for backing the Syrian regime in the UN, we can remember that Washington didn’t criticize developments in Bahrain in March 2011. Back then Saudi forces suppressed Shiah demonstrations, supported by Iran, in Bahrain. It is obvious that the idea of pro-Iranian authorities in Bahrain contradicts the US geopolitical scheme in the Middle East. At the same time, in Syria Washington aims to minimize Tehran’s influence.
To ward off the officially declared concern about civilian victims, the resolution was aimed at overthrowing the regime in Syria only. And it doesn’t meet Russian interests at all.
It’s no secret that Russia has many reasons to support Bashar Assad’s government. This concerns the port of Tartus and multi-billion dollar arms exports to Syria. Russian experts and politicians can’t help but see further consequences of overthrowing the regime in Damascus. A pro-Western Iran is a nightmare forRussia. From the military-political point of view it would mean an enormous influence of the US in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. From an economic point of view – the launching of Iranian gas to the European markets, which contradicts the interests of the Russian gas monopolist Gazprom.
In reality, the West has more advantages for forming public opinion in the world. It beats Russia in the information field, making Moscow out to be responsible for new victims in Syria. While Russia resists any attempts to consider the resolution on sanctions against Damascus, news on the bloodbath in Homs comes from Syria. 337 people were killed after an air attack by the government army, APA cited Al Arabia. 1300 people were injured. Women and children are among the victims.
In the context of a Security Council paralyzed by the Russian-Chinese veto, such news is sharply perceived. The bloodbath in Homs is not only a human tragedy, but also a strike at the foreign political image of Moscow. There are no safe choices for Russian diplomacy anymore, the point is how Moscow will deal with the situation. It is sad that ordinary Syrians and their lives are only PR-steps in this context. In reality, responsibility for violence in Syria lies with the regime of Assad, who doesn’t want to abandon power, as well as with all countries which provide for their interests in this Arab country.
Orkhan Sattarov. Exclusively to VK
