ussia introduced a draft resolution Thursday at the United Nations Security Council in response to the bloody crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad in Syria">Syria.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington that the US doesn’t support the resolution because it presents “a seeming parity” between the Syria">Syria
n government and “the peaceful protesters and other Syria">Syrians who are trying to defend themselves.”
“There are some issues in it that we would not be able to support,” Clinton said, citing the parity of violence question.
Clinton, who said she hasn’t read the full Russian measure, said the US and its allies on the Security Council will discuss the draft with the Russians to see if something acceptable can be negotiated.
“Hopefully, we can work with the Russians who, for the first time, at least are recognizing that this is a matter that needs to go to the Security Council,” Clinton said at the State Department in Washington. “It is just that we have differences in how they are approaching it, but we hope to be able to work with them.”
“We are positively surprised that eventually Russia has decided to move on the resolution draft,” French Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters.
Efforts by the US and Europe to take action against Syria">Syria
in the Security Council have been blocked by Russia and China. Russia and China have vetoed the UN resolution on Syria">Syria and opposed tough sanctions on Assad’s regime last month.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the “immoral” position the West has taken on Syria">Syria
and said it was ignoring violence by the Syria">Syrian opposition. Russian continues to think that sanctions are counterproductive, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.
Clinton said the Russian measure will be reviewed with the Arab League, which has been taking the lead in dealing with Syria">Syria
. The group has postponed a meeting on Syria">Syria due to be held in Cairo on Dec 17, Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency reported.
Death Toll
The Security Council received renewed calls for intervention in Syria">Syria
this week after the UN’s top human-rights official raised the estimated civilian death toll in the country to more than 5,000 and said Assad’s government should be investigated for crimes against humanity.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Security Council on Dec 13 that the situation in Syria">Syria
was “intolerable,” and asked that “gross violations” committed by Assad’s security forces be referred to the International Criminal Court.
n army defectors killed 27 members of President Bashar al-Assad’s security forces in an attack Thursday, the Syria">Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The attack in the southern governorate of Daraa, where the nine-month uprising against Assad began, came after eight Syria">Syria
n soldiers died in an ambush by deserters near Hama. At least 32 civilians were also killed. Human Rights Watch accused Syria">Syrian military and intelligence officials of giving both “direct and standing orders to use lethal force.”
’s repression of protests has led to defections from the army and an escalation of clashes in which both sides are armed. Assad has blamed the unrest on foreign provocateurs and the government has used tanks, armored vehicles and artillery to crush the uprising.
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