US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Syria will not face the same scenario as Libya. She denied concerns of Russia and China at the UN Security Council that Syria could end up the same as Libya, RIA Novosti reports.
Clinton urged support of the UN Security Council for initiative of the Arab League made on January 22. The league proposed a peaceful switch of power in Syria.
Vitaly Churkin, Russian representative to the UN, said that the Security Council can and must find common grounds for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria. He emphasized that the Security Council cannot dictate domestic political settlement.
Churkin invited Syrian authorities and opposition to Moscow for informal negotiations without preconditions. He believes that such meeting could allow them to discuss many national issues without limits, including talks on preparations for inter-Syrian dialogue under the auspices of the Arab League.
Aref Dalilya, head of the Patriotic Coalition for Democratic Change, the largest opposition organization in Syria, says that a dialogue with the government would only be fruitful if its decisions would be realized. It needs a third side to guarantee fulfillment of decisions.
The opposition leader noted that his officials may visit Russia for the meeting, but it would depend on votes on Syria at the UN Security Council. He said that there would probably be no such visit to Moscow if Russia uses its right for veto. Blocking the resolution on Syria would escalate the conflict.
Western states attempted to pass a resolution on Syria in October 2011, including sanctions against the state. Russia and China blocked the resolution, using the right for veto. Russia presented own resolution project, Western members of the UN Security Council called too soft to stop the crisis. Morocco proposed a resolution project last week, resembling the Western approach with demands of switch of government. The project is being studied by experts of the UN Security Council.
