Russia threatens to veto US-backed UN resolution against Syria

Russia has stood with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from the day one of the uprising. The country’s deputy United Nations ambassador, Igor Pankin, said on Thursday that Russia couldn't support a United States-backed United Nations resolution against Syria, as the country did not want to see any foreign intervention in internal affairs of Syria. However, Pankin said that Russia was willing to provide any support to the world powers on Syria, but imposing sanction on the country is against the principled stance of Russia.

Pankin appeared confident while speaking to reporters at the Security Council. He said that the draft resolution would never be adopted by the UN as the country was putting up tough resistance to it. It may be pertinent to mention here that Russia has already vetoed two resolutions in the United Nations moved against the Syrian dictator. China has also been playing a vital role in saving Assad's skin from the wrath of the Arab League and other western countries. Russia and China believe that if the US and its allies are allowed to play a role in Syria to resolve the crisis, the situation would be no less than a chaos and disorder.

Both the countries believe that it was one of the biggest mistakes to allow the US and its allies to move against African dictator Col. Muammer al-Qaddafi. NATO forces pounded on armed forces of Libya and also established a no-fly-zone. After facing weeks of tough resistance from the dictator, Libyan rebels, with the help of NATO forces, were able to locate Qaddafi in a tunnel. He was dragged out, battered and shot dead. Also, China and Russia believe that if the United States is allowed entry in Syria, the whole region would be facing serious consequences in the next several years.

Under the resolution that the world powers want to move in the United Nations Security Council, the Syrian dictator would be responsible for drawing troops from the crisis-hit areas in 10 days, failing to which may result in military action against the dictator. There appears to be no easy way to resolve the Syrian crisis, as the world powers are divided. One group is in favor of Libya-like operation against the dictator, while the other one proposes meaningful dialogue with the dictator to resolve the crisis. The past track record of Assad shows that he does not care for any dialogue process and wants to bulldoze the uprising against his rule at any cost.

Russia and Arab League-UN envoy Kofi Annan have also been trying to coax the world powers to include Iran in the dialogue process, as the country enjoys a good influence in Syrian corridors of power. We hope the sanity prevails and Assad tries to find a solution to the problem himself.