Russia and West spar over Syria

Moscow backs reconstruction but UN wants political transition first

NEW YORK: Russia and the West sparred over the reconstruction of Syria as its military forces continue to capture opposition-held territory and Syrians express hope that the country’s seven-year civil war is nearing an end.

France’s United Nations Ambassador Francois Delattre on Friday made clear at a Security Council meeting that the European Union will not participate in rebuilding Syria “unless a political transition is effectively carried out – with constitutional and electoral processes carried out in a sincere and meaningful way”.

Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky, whose country is militarily backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, countered that reconstruction should not be linked to politics and the international community should join the country’s recovery effort now.

But Western nations are adamant about withholding reconstruction money to maximise pressure for a political transition.

Major powers, including the five

It would be wise for all international partners to join assistance in the Syrian recovery effort, to eschew artificial linkages to political momentum. Dmitry Polyansky

veto-wielding Security Council nations – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France – agreed on a roadmap for a Syrian political transition at a meeting in Geneva on June 30, 2012, about 16 months after the Syrian conflict began.

The roadmap starts with the establishment of a transitional governing body vested with full executive powers, includes drafting a new constitution, and ends with elections.

The current UN envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is now working to establish a committee to draft a new constitution.

Earlier this year, the government estimated reconstruction will cost some US$200bil (RM812bil) and last 15 years.

But like neighbouring Iraq, which also needs massive reconstruction after the war against the Islamic State extremist group, no one is offering much to help fund the process.

Polyansky told the council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria that “a critical challenge” to the Assad government’s call this month for the return of over 5.6 million refugees “is the revival of the Syrian national economy – the generation of new jobs”.

“The country is experiencing an acute shortage of construction materials and heavy equipment for which fuel is necessary,” he said, and the educational and health systems need to be revived.

Polyansky then said: “It would be wise for all international partners to join assistance in the Syrian recovery effort, to eschew artificial linkages to political momentum.”

More broadly, he called for Syria to be reintegrated into the regional trade and economic system which “will best advance the objective of overall normalisation of relations among states in the Middle East”.

“And, of course, stabilisation will help to advance the UN-led political settlement process which is unanimously supported by all members of the Security Council,” Polyansky said.

But Delattre said a political transition with a new constitution and credible elections is “the essential condition for the country’s stability, and for our contribution to the financing of reconstruction”.

“Without that,” Delattre said, “nothing can justify having France and the European Union engage in financing reconstruction.”

And he added that without “a breakthrough” in the political process, the humanitarian situation will never be fully resolved.