SovereignSyria
Published on Sep 23, 2013
A US political commentator says Russia will never agree with US military intervention in Syria which he believes is a tactic to take the spotlight off its crumbling economy.
Professor James Petras, who has written several books on the Latin America and Middle East, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Monday.
"I don't think Russia will submit to this blackmail. I don't think Washington has a stand to carry out its policies. I think if Obama does go ahead with this bombing mission, he will face great opposition in the United States," Petras said.
He also said that US President Barack Obama faces "enormous internal difficulties in his attempt to distract attention by launching a war against Syria, [which] is a way of deflecting the forthcoming economic crisis because of internal difficulties."
The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
Damascus has vehemently denied the accusations, saying the attack was carried out by the militants themselves as a false-flag operation.
On September 9, Russia offered a proposal to put Syrian chemical weapons under international supervision in order to avoid US military strikes.
On September 14, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov agreed on the deal and Damascus also accepted the plan.
On September 17, Lavrov stated that the resolution that the UN Security Council will adopt on Syria will not refer to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter that regulates the use of military force.
In his interview with Press TV, James Petras added, "Kerry has reneged on his commitment."
"Basically, what he did was essentially sign off an agreement to undermine the opposition in the United States. Public opinion was running very strongly against the US bombing of Syria; the US Congress was prepared to vote against it," he said.
"Kerry did a detour; he agreed to the proposal by President [Vladimir] Putin to dismantle Syria's chemical weaponry and once the pressure was off, he wanted to insert this clause, which provides the basis for the US to renew its initiative to bomb Syria.
"The same thing happened in Libya; Washington was able to secure Russian approval for an air supervision of Libya's air space and then turned around and used that UN proposal to bomb Libya into defeat. And I think what is in store for Syria is something very similar.
"Under no conditions can the Russians accept this resolution because it is an open ticket to the US bombing Syria, even as it identifies and prepares to dismantle its chemical weapons."
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Lavrov: US pressuring Russia into passing UN resolution on Syria allowing military force
Published time: September 22, 2013 09:48
Edited time: September 22, 2013 19:42
Edited time: September 22, 2013 19:42
“Our American partners are starting to blackmail us: ‘If Russia does not support a resolution under Chapter 7, then we will withdraw our support for Syria’s entry into the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This is a complete departure from what I agreed with Secretary of State John Kerry',” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Channel 1's Sunday Time program.
Chapter 7 of the UN charter would allow for potential military intervention in Syria.
Western countries blinded by 'Assad must go' attitude
The head of Russia’s Foreign Ministry went on to say he was surprised by the West’s “negligent” approach to the conflict.“Our partners are blinded by an ideological mission for regime change,” said Lavrov. “They cannot admit they have made another mistake.”
Slamming the West’s intervention in Libya and Iraq, the foreign minister stated that military intervention could only lead to a catastrophe in the region. Moreover, he stressed that if the West really was interested in a peaceful solution to the conflict that has raged for over two years, they would now be pushing for Syria’s entry into the OPCW in the first place, not for the ouster of President Bashar Assad.
“I am convinced that the West is doing this to demonstrate that they call the shots in the Middle East. This is a totally politicized approach,” said Lavrov.
The Russian foreign minister pointed out that in the case of a military scenario, militants would come to power and Syria would no longer be a secular state. Up to three quarters “of these guys are Jihadists,” including the most radical groups such as Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, who want to create an Islamic Caliphate in Syria and in neighboring territories, Lavrov said.
As to why the West would want that, Moscow has so far received no clear answer, but hears “mantras” on the necessity to promote democracy and protect human rights, said the minister. That is important, but “responsible politicians should be guided not only by that. Not to care about stability in a key world region is absolutely irresponsible,” he added.
According to Lavrov, some experts alleged that “someone is attempting to create a guided chaos” in the region for their own benefits. However, the foreign minister said he personally sees no possible advantages that Western countries would gain if they were behind moves to stir up instability.
“There’s only an attempt to grasp a straw, and turn a blind eye to the fact that the world is changing and becoming multipolar,” Lavrov concluded.
'A repeat of Geneva 2012'
Lavrov harked back to last year’s Geneva accord which was agreed upon by the international community, including Russia and the US. However, when the resolution went to the Security Council the US demanded that Chapter 7 be included.“History is repeating itself. Once again in Geneva an agreement has been reached which does not contain any mention of Chapter 7. But the Security Council wants to redo the document in their own way to include it.”
He called on the West to observe international law and stop writing resolutions motivated by their “geopolitical ambitions.”
‘Both sides must hand over chemical weapons’
Sergey Lavrov has also insisted that opposition forces take part in the decommissioning of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.“The solutions currently being worked out at the OPCW suggest that all stocks of Syrian chemical weapons must be brought under control and ultimately destroyed.”
Lavrov further charged that the West was “not telling the whole story” by asserting that chemical weapons are only possessed by the regime, and not the opposition.
"According to our estimates, there is a strong probability that in addition to home-grown labs in which militants are trying to cook up harmful and deadly concoctions, the data provided by the Israelis is true,” the Russian FM said.
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Newsnation6
Published on Sep 22, 2013
The US is
pushing Russia into approving a UN resolution that would allow for
military intervention in Syria, in exchange for American support of
Syria's accession to OPCW, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has
said.
"Our American partners are starting to blackmail us: 'If
Russia does not support a resolution under Chapter 7, then we will
withdraw our support for Syria's entry into the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This is a complete departure
from what I agreed with Secretary of State John Kerry'," Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov told Channel 1's Sunday Time program.Chapter 7 of the UN charter would allow for potential military intervention in Syria.
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