RABAT, November 1 (Itar-Tass) – Russia supports the actions of the Arab League towards the establishing of dialogue between the government and the opposition in Syria, Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin who is visiting Morocco for consultations, told Itar-Tass Monday.
The consultations he is taking part in are held in connection with Morocco’s election a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council for the years 2012 and 2013.
“Both Russia and the Arab League are seeking to attain a situation where bloodshed would stop in Syria and the government and the opposition would establish a dialogue,” Churkin said.
“Syria is a close partner for us,” he went on. “We expressed the hope that the Arab League would continue its patient and persistent work with the Syrian government and the opposition likewise so as to revert the situation to the track of political settlement.”
“Russia and China have completed the drafting of a resolution on Syria and the document resembles very much the resolution, which the UN Security Council adopted with regard to Yemen recently,” Churkin said.
“It’s a wild guess why the Security Council can adopt a resolution that urges all the sides in Yemen to refrain from violence to and open a dialogue but doesn’t contain any threats of sanctions and why it’s incapable of passing a resolution of the same kind on Syria,” he said.
“We haven’t heard any reasonable answers about it from our Western counterparts,” Churkin said
Still, there are some signs of shifts in the situation around Syria.
“The Syrian authorities and the Arab League have launched a dialogue, thus sending an encouraging signal for a start.” Churkin said. “And if this dialogue goes hand in glove with steps towards reforms, this may bring about very good results.
Russia and China blocked a draft resolution submitted to the UN Security Council last month. It envisioned a possibility of sanctions against the Syrian government for suppression of the oppositionists’ protest actions.
On the face of it, Churkin hailed the adoption of a Security Council resolution on the possible trickling of weapons to other countries from the territory of Libya.
“The resolution makes emphasis on shoulder-carried antiaircraft missiles that may be quite a dangerous kind of weaponry, especially if they fall into the terrorists’ hands,” he said.
“We hope this resolution, as well as the one on ending the foreign operation in Libya that the UN passed last week will help draw a bottom line under the Libyan crisis and switch the situation there back to the political rails with due assistance from the UN,” Churkin said.
Itar-Tass said in a report from New York earlier the UN Security Council on Monday unanimous passed Resolution 2017 drafted by Russia. It urged the authorities in Libya and neighboring states to prevent and cut short the terrorists’ craving for the shoulder-carried antiaircraft complexes.
The resolution highlighted the dangers that the proliferation of all the types of weaponry from the Libyan territory posed to stability in the region. It made an especial stress on the antiaircraft complexes.