UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Council strongly condemned Friday’s “terrorist attacks” in Syria and sent condolences to the victims, their families and the Syrian people, according to 15-member’s body’s press statement.
But over the objections of the United States and its western allies, the Security Council did not offer the customary condolences to the government that they oppose. Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is the Security Council’s president for this month, said he had to leave out several words from the standard text reserved for such attacks in order to get support from all 15 Council members.
Members of the Council stressed that “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,” according to the statement.
Meanwhile, the Council has not been able to pronounce on the nine-month uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime because of the sharp divisions that have led to acrimonious exchanges and heightened tensions especially among major powers.
The US and its Western allies are insisting on a resolution threatening sanctions if the violence doesn’t stop and condemning the Syrian crackdown, which the UN says has killed 5,000 people. But Russia and China believe extremist opponents of the government are equally responsible for the bloodshed and oppose any mention of sanctions.
While the council was able to agree on a press statement on Friday’s twin suicide bombs targeting Syria’s intelligence agencies, it could not agree on another Russian-proposed statement Friday supporting the start of the Arab League mission to investigate the Syrian crackdown. It called on all parties to show maximum restraint, without singling out the government crackdown on protesters.
The Council also remains divided over a revised Russian-drafted resolution circulated Friday which Germany’s UN Ambassador Peter Wittig called “insufficient.”
“So far the Russian draft, the Russian suggestions, are insufficient,” he told reporters. “We need to put the weight of the council behind the Arab League, behind all the decisions of the Arab League in (their) entirety.”
“We should not pick and choose,” Wittig said. “That includes the demands to release political prisoners, that includes a clear signal for accountability for those who have perpetrated human rights violations.”
Some UN diplomats say that “accountability” is becoming synonymous with referral to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for possible war crimes charges.
Wittig said his requests for amendments to be included in the Russian draft were not reflected in the text, which council diplomats said was being discussed at a closed-door meeting of envoys from council member states.
Russia’s latest draft, Western diplomats said, would have the council welcome Syria’s decision to sign an Arab League deal allowing monitors into the country.
But it does not endorse the Arab League’s threat of possible sanctions against Damascus if it continues with a crackdown that the United Nations says has killed more than 5,000 civilians.
Churkin said he was willing to amend the draft further, though Western diplomats said they suspected the Russians might not be serious about wanting a Security Council resolution on Syria and might instead be trying to help Syria play for time.
The Russian Ambassador said the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad had become the target of “regime change,” similar to the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was ousted and killed by rebels. The anti-Gaddafi uprising was aided by a UN-backed NATO military operation to protect Libyan civilians.
But Churkin said Damascus shared some of the blame for winding up in that position.
“Of course, it was the fault of Damascus that they created a situation through violence, excessive violence, that they became this target of opportunity for regime change,” Churkin said.