BRITAIN, the US and France are seeking Russian support for a new United Nations security council resolution to endorse Arab demands that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, step down.
In a fresh twist to international diplomatic attempts to deal with the Syrian crisis, western countries have, in effect, abandoned attempts to impose UN sanctions on the Assad regime and are hoping for a new consensus for a political solution to the bloody 10-month impasse.
The basis for the new approach is the Arab League plan published on Sunday that called on Syria’s president to hand over powers to his deputy and set up a national unity government with the opposition. Syria lambasted the plan as “flagrant interference” in its internal affairs and accused Arab states of attempting to “internationalise” the crisis.
The secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, and Hamed bin Jassem al-Thani, the Qatari prime minister, are planning to brief the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon in New York in the next few days, according Mr Arabi’s deputy, Ahmed ben Helli.
If Russia is supportive, the hope is to pass a UN resolution early next month forcing Mr Assad to confront solid international opposition for the first time since the uprising began last March.
Russia has so far backed Mr Assad and opposed punitive action or even verbal condemnation in part because it is angry at the way the UN was used to mandate the Nato intervention in Libya. However it formally welcomed the league decision, and western diplomats say they believe it will now be hard for Moscow to veto an explicit Arab call for the Syrian leader to step down.
On Monday a Kremlin envoy appeared to rebuke Mr Assad for failing to promote a peaceful solution, although the foreign ministry was quick to insist Moscow’s position was unchanged.
China has blocked anti-Syrian action but is thought likely to shift position if Russia does. The US has criticised Russia for supplying weapons to Syria, which received a shipment of Russian ammunition this month and has signed a $550 million (€422 million) deal for 26 Yak-130 jet trainer aircraft.
However Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Muallem, expressed confidence that Russia would stand by it. “Our relations with Russia have deep roots,” he said.
The emerging diplomatic initiative overshadowed continuing doubts about the future of the troubled league monitoring mission in Syria, whose Saudi and other Gulf members have now been formally withdrawn. They may be replaced by observers from Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Turkey. – (Guardian service)