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    January 27, 2012

Russia Criticizes Arab-Western Draft Resolution on Syria

   VOA News

   Russia says it cannot support the current version of a joint
   Arab-Western draft U.N. resolution on Syria because it "does not take
   into account" Moscow's positions on how to end the 10-month-old
   political crisis.
   The ITAR-TASS news agency quotes Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady
   Gatilov as saying that Russia is concerned the resolution does not
   specifically rule out military intervention. He also criticized the
   draft for mentioning economic sanctions imposed earlier by the Arab
   League.
   Later Friday, the U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the
   resolution, which supports an Arab League plan calling for President
   Bashar al-Assad to transfer power to a deputy and form a national unity
   government to prepare for elections.
   Officials who have seen the proposal say it had hoped to attract
   Russian support by using language that may leave open the possibility
   for Assad to stay in office, but in a limited role. They also say the
   document hints at, but does not call for, economic sanctions.
   Russia has repeatedly promised to block any resolution calling for
   Assad's removal, economic sanctions, or military action. In December,
   Moscow presented its own resolution how to solve the crisis, but it was
   criticized by many Western diplomats as being too easy on Assad's
   government.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged the 15-member
   council to take action on the proposal, saying leaders should "seize
   this moment."
   "I hope that the Security Council will be able to act in a coherent and
   same voice," Ban said.
   Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad
   bin Jassim al-Thani are expected to formally present the plan to the
   Security Council next week, and a vote is expected soon thereafter.
   Meanwhile, activist groups said violence continued Friday in Syria. The
   Local Coordination Committees group said Syrian security forces killed
   three people in the central city of Homs, two in the northwestern Idlib
   province and one in the suburbs of Damascus.
   The group also said that forces carried out a pre-dawn raid in the
   flashpoint city of Homs.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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