3 New Messages
Digest #4442
Messages
Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:06 am (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://en.rian.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
July 25, 2012
Russia Hits Out at West’s ‘Chilling’ Syria Stance
MOSCOW: Russia accused Western powers on Wednesday of encouraging terrorism over their refusal to condemn the suicide bombing that killed Syria’s defense minister last week.
“In other words, they are saying: ‘We will continue to support such terrorist acts until the UN Security Council does what we want it to,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists. “This is a chilling position.”
Four top Syrian security officials, including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, were killed when a rebel suicide bomber managed to infiltrate the government building where they were meeting in the capital, Damascus, on July 18.
The United States envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, said after the bombing that the attack was further proof of the necessity to adopt a Security Council resolution against the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad...
Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN resolution on Syria on July 19 over fears that it would lead to foreign military intervention in the Middle East country, a stance that United States envoy to the United Nations Susan Rice called "paranoid if not disingenuous.”
The resolution was tied to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would have provided for the use of force to put an end to the rapidly escalating conflict.
This was the third time that Russia and China had vetoed a UN resolution on Syria.
Russia says it has no special interest in seeing Assad remain in power, but that the “Syrian people” should decide his fate. And Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed earlier this year not to allow a repeat of the “Libya scenario" which saw the ouster and murder of...Muammar Gaddafi after a NATO military campaign.
Speaking as fighting continued to rage in both Damascus and Syria’s second city of Aleppo, Lavrov also criticized new unilateral European Union sanctions against Syria introduced on Monday.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said earlier in the day that the sanctions were “counter-productive” and “incapable of resolving the situation in Syria.”
EU foreign ministers decided at Monday’s meeting in Brussels to introduce rules obliging the organization’s 27 member states to search airplanes and ships suspected of carrying weapons to Syria. Assets freezes and visa bans were also introduced against Syrian officials.
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http://english.
Voice of Russia
Agencies
July 25, 2012
US justifies terrorism in Syria – Russian official
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed as unacceptable the failure of some Western top officials to condemn the deadly terror attack on Damascus on July 18, slamming it as a downright justification of terrorism.
Mr. Lavrov cited US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, who went so far as to say that this terror act proved the UN Security Council must hurry and adopt a resolution on Syria.
Sergei Lavrov pointed out this stand of the US effectively meant it would be backing terror attacks on Syria until the UN caved in to its demands.
Foreign Minister Lavrov has said that the West’s support of the armed Syrian opposition amounts to turning a blind eye to terrorism.
He spoke about this in Moscow Wednesday after American UN Ambassador Susan Rice refused to condemn the Damascus terror attack that killed several Syrian Ministers, and State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of plotting to torpedo Western-tabled Security Council resolutions on Syria.
Lavrov said he believes these statements make the American accusations that Russia and China are fanning the Syrian conflict sound insincere and hollow.
The July 18 bomb destroyed the Damascus headquarters of Syria’s national security service and killed several top Syrian officials, including Defence Minister Daoud Rajiha and national security chief Hisham Bakhtiyar.The Free Syrian Army said at the time that it was responsible.
Moscow accuses EU of Syria ‘blockade’
Moscow has said it will not back up a fresh package of unilateral sanctions against Syria, which it referred to as a virtual “sea and air blockade.”
This came today in the Russian Foreign Ministry white paper, published on its official site.
The Russian foreign office slammed the new round of sanctions as “counterproductive” to the peace settlement process in the region, adding it was contradictory to UN special envoy Kofi Annan’s plan, as well as to the final communiqué issued by the action group meeting in Geneva.
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http://www.interfax
Interfax
July 25, 2012
EU's fresh sanctions a declaration of sea and air blockade against Syria - Russia
MOSCOW: The Russian Foreign Ministry sees the EU oreign Affairs Council's decision to impose the 17th package of sanctions on Syria as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against that country.
"This package must be examined by experts for its compliance with international law, first of all the EU provisions dealing with "the EU member-states' duty to inspect third countries' aircraft and ships heading to Syria, if the member-states suspect that the cargo transported contains weapons or riot gear," The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on Wednesday.
"In fact, the measures being taken by the European Union may be qualified as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against Syria. Our position on unilateral sanctions is well known. Russia does not recognize them and sees them as counterproductive, as hampering normalization in Syria and going against the letter and spirit of the UN/LAS envoy Kofi Annan's plan and the Final Communique of the Action Group's Geneva meeting," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
============
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============
Russian Information Agency Novosti
July 25, 2012
Russia Hits Out at West’s ‘Chilling’ Syria Stance
MOSCOW: Russia accused Western powers on Wednesday of encouraging terrorism over their refusal to condemn the suicide bombing that killed Syria’s defense minister last week.
“In other words, they are saying: ‘We will continue to support such terrorist acts until the UN Security Council does what we want it to,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists. “This is a chilling position.”
Four top Syrian security officials, including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, were killed when a rebel suicide bomber managed to infiltrate the government building where they were meeting in the capital, Damascus, on July 18.
The United States envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, said after the bombing that the attack was further proof of the necessity to adopt a Security Council resolution against the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad...
Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN resolution on Syria on July 19 over fears that it would lead to foreign military intervention in the Middle East country, a stance that United States envoy to the United Nations Susan Rice called "paranoid if not disingenuous.”
The resolution was tied to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would have provided for the use of force to put an end to the rapidly escalating conflict.
This was the third time that Russia and China had vetoed a UN resolution on Syria.
Russia says it has no special interest in seeing Assad remain in power, but that the “Syrian people” should decide his fate. And Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed earlier this year not to allow a repeat of the “Libya scenario" which saw the ouster and murder of...Muammar Gaddafi after a NATO military campaign.
Speaking as fighting continued to rage in both Damascus and Syria’s second city of Aleppo, Lavrov also criticized new unilateral European Union sanctions against Syria introduced on Monday.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said earlier in the day that the sanctions were “counter-productive” and “incapable of resolving the situation in Syria.”
EU foreign ministers decided at Monday’s meeting in Brussels to introduce rules obliging the organization’s 27 member states to search airplanes and ships suspected of carrying weapons to Syria. Assets freezes and visa bans were also introduced against Syrian officials.
------------
http://english.
Voice of Russia
Agencies
July 25, 2012
US justifies terrorism in Syria – Russian official
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed as unacceptable the failure of some Western top officials to condemn the deadly terror attack on Damascus on July 18, slamming it as a downright justification of terrorism.
Mr. Lavrov cited US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, who went so far as to say that this terror act proved the UN Security Council must hurry and adopt a resolution on Syria.
Sergei Lavrov pointed out this stand of the US effectively meant it would be backing terror attacks on Syria until the UN caved in to its demands.
Foreign Minister Lavrov has said that the West’s support of the armed Syrian opposition amounts to turning a blind eye to terrorism.
He spoke about this in Moscow Wednesday after American UN Ambassador Susan Rice refused to condemn the Damascus terror attack that killed several Syrian Ministers, and State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of plotting to torpedo Western-tabled Security Council resolutions on Syria.
Lavrov said he believes these statements make the American accusations that Russia and China are fanning the Syrian conflict sound insincere and hollow.
The July 18 bomb destroyed the Damascus headquarters of Syria’s national security service and killed several top Syrian officials, including Defence Minister Daoud Rajiha and national security chief Hisham Bakhtiyar.The Free Syrian Army said at the time that it was responsible.
Moscow accuses EU of Syria ‘blockade’
Moscow has said it will not back up a fresh package of unilateral sanctions against Syria, which it referred to as a virtual “sea and air blockade.”
This came today in the Russian Foreign Ministry white paper, published on its official site.
The Russian foreign office slammed the new round of sanctions as “counterproductive” to the peace settlement process in the region, adding it was contradictory to UN special envoy Kofi Annan’s plan, as well as to the final communiqué issued by the action group meeting in Geneva.
------------
http://www.interfax
Interfax
July 25, 2012
EU's fresh sanctions a declaration of sea and air blockade against Syria - Russia
MOSCOW: The Russian Foreign Ministry sees the EU oreign Affairs Council's decision to impose the 17th package of sanctions on Syria as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against that country.
"This package must be examined by experts for its compliance with international law, first of all the EU provisions dealing with "the EU member-states' duty to inspect third countries' aircraft and ships heading to Syria, if the member-states suspect that the cargo transported contains weapons or riot gear," The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a commentary on Wednesday.
"In fact, the measures being taken by the European Union may be qualified as the declaration of a sea and air blockade against Syria. Our position on unilateral sanctions is well known. Russia does not recognize them and sees them as counterproductive, as hampering normalization in Syria and going against the letter and spirit of the UN/LAS envoy Kofi Annan's plan and the Final Communique of the Action Group's Geneva meeting," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
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Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:41 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
Stop NATO articles 2009-2012:
http://rickrozoff.
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http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
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stopnato-subscribe@
============
http://rickrozoff.
============
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@
============
Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:41 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff
http://usa.chinadai
China Daily
July 26, 2012
Right to decide own future
By Zheng Xiwen
China supports the Syrian people's freedom to choose its leadership and opposes outside intervention to force regime change
====
Over the past decade, the US-led Western world has been preaching the notion of "human rights above sovereignty"
====
China and Russia have come under fire again for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution, brokered by the West, on July 19 that would have paved the way for imposing sanctions on Syria.
As usual, the Western media have held China and Russia accountable for the escalating conflict in Syria. Susan Rice, US permanent representative to the UN, has criticized China and Russia, saying that "history will judge those that three times have blocked (Security) Council action quite harshly".
Despite the West's attempt to blame China and Russia, people can tell which countries are actually on the right side of history, act responsibly and truly care for the Syrian people.
As a responsible country, China has been consistent in its position and will never seek to fulfill its own interests on the Syrian issue by supporting or opposing anyone. Instead, China upholds justice and remains committed to maintaining peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East by adhering to the principles governing international relations.
Above all, China adheres to the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of Syria and opposes any foreign intervention in the meanwhile.
Sovereign equality is a principle enshrined in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which is widely recognized as the foundation of modern international relations and also serves as the founding principle of the UN. The maintenance of the international order and world peace and stability, to a great extent, depends on whether we stick to this principle.
Just as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger wrote in an article earlier this year, intervention in the Syrian issue risks upsetting the global order. Noninterference in another country's internal affairs is an iron principle that should be abided by all nations to maintain the global order.
Besides, China respects the independent choice of the Syrian people and opposes any outside attempt to forcibly promote regime change in Syria. A country's leadership should be decided by its own people, not by any outsider. There is no legitimate reason for any country or group of countries to decide the leadership of another country.
For a recent example we have to look at Greece. Although the Greek turmoil worsened and threatened to touch off a domino effect across Europe, European Union leaders could not force leadership change in Greece. It was the Greek people who decided the country's fate through the ballot. Likewise, the fate of Syria is in the hands of its people, and China will respect any decision that is reached within that country and is supported by the Syrian people.
Moreover, China has always stressed that the Syrian issue should be resolved through political means and strongly opposes any military intervention. The Syrian crisis can only be resolved politically, not under outside military intervention.
Over the past decade, the US-led Western world has been preaching the notion of "human rights above sovereignty"
The West is now resorting to the "Libyan model" to intervene in Syria and seek the UN Security Council's authorization for military intervention. It's for this reason that the US and its Western allies keep demonizing the Syrian government and supporting the Syrian opposition.
Actually, the US and its allies should be held responsible for the prolonged unrest in Syria.
The good news is that the UN Security Council has passed a rollover resolution that gives the UN Supervision Mission in Syria a final 30-day extension, which indicates that the Security Council is back on the "right track" of supporting UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan's mediation efforts in Syria and settling the Syrian crisis through political means.
The Syrian situation has entered a critical phase and the international community should urge all parties to give up violence to facilitate the establishment of long-term peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East.
The author is an international affairs analyst based in Beijing.
China Daily
July 26, 2012
Right to decide own future
By Zheng Xiwen
China supports the Syrian people's freedom to choose its leadership and opposes outside intervention to force regime change
====
Over the past decade, the US-led Western world has been preaching the notion of "human rights above sovereignty"
====
China and Russia have come under fire again for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution, brokered by the West, on July 19 that would have paved the way for imposing sanctions on Syria.
As usual, the Western media have held China and Russia accountable for the escalating conflict in Syria. Susan Rice, US permanent representative to the UN, has criticized China and Russia, saying that "history will judge those that three times have blocked (Security) Council action quite harshly".
Despite the West's attempt to blame China and Russia, people can tell which countries are actually on the right side of history, act responsibly and truly care for the Syrian people.
As a responsible country, China has been consistent in its position and will never seek to fulfill its own interests on the Syrian issue by supporting or opposing anyone. Instead, China upholds justice and remains committed to maintaining peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East by adhering to the principles governing international relations.
Above all, China adheres to the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of Syria and opposes any foreign intervention in the meanwhile.
Sovereign equality is a principle enshrined in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which is widely recognized as the foundation of modern international relations and also serves as the founding principle of the UN. The maintenance of the international order and world peace and stability, to a great extent, depends on whether we stick to this principle.
Just as former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger wrote in an article earlier this year, intervention in the Syrian issue risks upsetting the global order. Noninterference in another country's internal affairs is an iron principle that should be abided by all nations to maintain the global order.
Besides, China respects the independent choice of the Syrian people and opposes any outside attempt to forcibly promote regime change in Syria. A country's leadership should be decided by its own people, not by any outsider. There is no legitimate reason for any country or group of countries to decide the leadership of another country.
For a recent example we have to look at Greece. Although the Greek turmoil worsened and threatened to touch off a domino effect across Europe, European Union leaders could not force leadership change in Greece. It was the Greek people who decided the country's fate through the ballot. Likewise, the fate of Syria is in the hands of its people, and China will respect any decision that is reached within that country and is supported by the Syrian people.
Moreover, China has always stressed that the Syrian issue should be resolved through political means and strongly opposes any military intervention. The Syrian crisis can only be resolved politically, not under outside military intervention.
Over the past decade, the US-led Western world has been preaching the notion of "human rights above sovereignty"
The West is now resorting to the "Libyan model" to intervene in Syria and seek the UN Security Council's authorization for military intervention. It's for this reason that the US and its Western allies keep demonizing the Syrian government and supporting the Syrian opposition.
Actually, the US and its allies should be held responsible for the prolonged unrest in Syria.
The good news is that the UN Security Council has passed a rollover resolution that gives the UN Supervision Mission in Syria a final 30-day extension, which indicates that the Security Council is back on the "right track" of supporting UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan's mediation efforts in Syria and settling the Syrian crisis through political means.
The Syrian situation has entered a critical phase and the international community should urge all parties to give up violence to facilitate the establishment of long-term peace and stability in Syria and the Middle East.
The author is an international affairs analyst based in Beijing.
