United Nations, New York, July 20, 2012
Russia will veto a British proposal to extend a U.N. observer mission in Syria if it comes up for a vote, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations said Friday.
The 15-nation council went into emergency consultations in a bid to avoid a second Russia veto on a Syria in 24 hours and a fourth since the start of the crisis in March last year.
The council has to take a decision on Friday, when the 90-day mandate of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) is due to run out.
If it fails the U.N. would have to hurriedly get its nearly 300 unarmed military observers and 100 civilian staff out of the country.
Britain has proposed a resolution which would extend UNSMIS for a “final” time for 30 days. “We are going to vote against. We told them yesterday,” Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters before Friday’s talks, according to AFP.
Russia vetoed a Western-backed resolution on Thursday which would have threatened sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad if he does not end the use of heavy weapons in the conflict.
Russia supports a Pakistan draft resolution which would extend the mission for 45 days but without any conditions meaning it could be prolonged again.
Both resolutions seek to extend the U.N. observer mission in Syria before its mandate expires at midnight Friday EDT (0400 GMT on Saturday).
But it remained unclear whether either resolution had enough backing to pass. It would need at least nine votes and no vetoes by permanent members United States, Britain, France, Russia or China.
China on Thursday joined Russia in using its veto against the Western-backed resolution that would have extended the mandate, saying they could not accept the measure’s call for sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if it fails to rein in its campaign against a widening rebellion.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Li Baodong said Beijing supported Pakistan’s proposal for a technical rollover of the mission for 45 days, which Russia also backs, according to Reuters.
“We’re looking for a consensus, there’s still a chance,” Li said when asked if China, too, contemplated another veto of the British proposal.
With the council in disarray, Pakistan asked for further consultations on Friday before a vote is held, diplomats said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Thursday that the United States would “probably” support the British resolution and described the Pakistani resolution as a simple technical rollover. “We have been clear, we are not supporting a technical rollover,” she told reporters.
Russia and China have thus far vetoed three different resolutions designed to pressure Assad and halt the 16-month conflict that has killed thousands.
Source: Al Arabiya
