Russia stands to lose
RUSSIA, seconded by China, vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on President Bashar Assad to concede some powers as part of a peaceful solution to the escalating crisis in Syria. Had the resolution — which was backed by the Arab League — passed, it would have expedited the defusing of the crisis. It could also have relieved the Arab public opinion that is deeply concerned by the most recent violent escalation.
One more time, Russia proved to be insensitive to the Arab public. Its unbridled support for the brutal regime in Damascus in the UN Security Council has triggered a fresh wave of Arabs’ resentment of the negative role played by Moscow. While Moscow made the case that the proposed resolution amounted to external intervention in Syria’s domestic affairs, it failed to come up with any mechanism to assure the safety and security of the Syrian people. In other words, Russia has given Assad a green light to crush protesters!
Russia was aware of this perception and therefore its foreign minister rushed to Syria to give a signal that Moscow is in the middle of defusing the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he held productive talks with President Assad. But productivity means different things to different people. According to Russian sources, Assad was ready to help solve the dispute in line with the Arab League’s initiative. In the words of Lavrov, “Today we received confirmation from the president of Syria that he is prepared to cooperate in this effort.”
Ironically, while Russian foreign minister was in Damascus to talk to the Syrian president, Syrian troops continued shelling the city of Homs thus killing hundreds of Syrian civilians. Some reports talk about the near destruction of the city. Mr. Lavrov does not have a solution at all. Indeed, Russia has become part of the problem and not part of the solution. Moscow is backing Assad to crush the resistance as soon as possible to force the opposition to accept unconditional dialogue with the regime.
The problem with the Russian inexplicable position is that Russian leaders care more about their political interests than the interests of
Hassan Barari