Russia will only consider supporting a United Nations resolution authorizing military strikes against the Syrian government if there’s conclusive proof it used chemical weapons, President Vladimir Putin said.
“If we have objective, precise evidence about who carried out this crime, then there will be a reaction,” Putin said in an interview with the Associated Press and Russian state television broadcaster Channel One, a transcript of which was posted on the Kremlin website today. Any information showing that the Syrian army was behind the attack should be submitted to the UN Security Council, he said.
Putin said last week that it would have been “utter nonsense” for President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces to carry out the assault on the day a team of UN inspectors arrived in Damascus and his troops were making military progress against the rebels. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said there are “multiple indications” that Syrian insurgents staged the attack to provoke a U.S.-led intervention.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in a surprise move, decided to seek congressional approval to strike Syria for what the administration says was an Aug. 21 sarin gas attack by government forces that killed more than 1,400 people. The two top Republicans in the House of Representatives said yesterday they would support the request.
[h=2]No Shift[/h]Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly blocked resolutions seeking punitive actions against its Soviet-era ally Syria. A 2 1/2-year uprising in the Middle Eastern country has degenerated into a civil war and killed more than 100,000 people.
The comments don’t signal a shift in Russia’s position because Putin doesn’t expect any proof linking Assad’s forces to a chemical attack, said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
“What Putin said doesn’t change anything,” Lukyanov said by phone. “Any claims by U.S. or French intelligence services won’t be considered convincing by Russia because of a complete lack of trust.”
Putin, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with Obama on the sidelines. The Russian leader said his opposition to a strike on Syria was based on his determination to uphold international law, with military actions sanctioned by the UN, rather than support for the Syrian government.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country welcomes Putin’s statement on Syria. France has said it will join any military strike against Assad.
[h=2]S-300 Supplies[/h]Russia will continue providing military supplies under contracts to the Syrian government, which it recognizes as the legitimate authority in the country, Putin said. Russia has halted supplies of the advanced S-300 missile system, which Putin called better than the U.S. Patriot missiles. Deliveries may resume if actions are taken against Syria violating international law, he said.
UN inspectors visited the area where the alleged attack took place near Damascus and are awaiting lab results before reporting on the incident. The UN doesn’t have a mandate to determine who used the chemical weapons.
Almost six in 10 Americans oppose the U.S. conducting unilateral missile strikes against Syria, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll. The opposition drops to 51 percent if other nations such as the U.K. and France participate. Seventy percent oppose supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels.
To contact the reporters on this story: Scott Rose in Moscow at [email protected]; Henry Meyer in Moscow at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Russia's President Vladimir Putin[/h]
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines.
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines. Photographer: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images
“If we have objective, precise evidence about who carried out this crime, then there will be a reaction,” Putin said in an interview with the Associated Press and Russian state television broadcaster Channel One, a transcript of which was posted on the Kremlin website today. Any information showing that the Syrian army was behind the attack should be submitted to the UN Security Council, he said.
Putin said last week that it would have been “utter nonsense” for President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces to carry out the assault on the day a team of UN inspectors arrived in Damascus and his troops were making military progress against the rebels. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said there are “multiple indications” that Syrian insurgents staged the attack to provoke a U.S.-led intervention.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in a surprise move, decided to seek congressional approval to strike Syria for what the administration says was an Aug. 21 sarin gas attack by government forces that killed more than 1,400 people. The two top Republicans in the House of Representatives said yesterday they would support the request.
[h=2]No Shift[/h]Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, has repeatedly blocked resolutions seeking punitive actions against its Soviet-era ally Syria. A 2 1/2-year uprising in the Middle Eastern country has degenerated into a civil war and killed more than 100,000 people.
The comments don’t signal a shift in Russia’s position because Putin doesn’t expect any proof linking Assad’s forces to a chemical attack, said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
“What Putin said doesn’t change anything,” Lukyanov said by phone. “Any claims by U.S. or French intelligence services won’t be considered convincing by Russia because of a complete lack of trust.”
Putin, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with Obama on the sidelines. The Russian leader said his opposition to a strike on Syria was based on his determination to uphold international law, with military actions sanctioned by the UN, rather than support for the Syrian government.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said his country welcomes Putin’s statement on Syria. France has said it will join any military strike against Assad.
[h=2]S-300 Supplies[/h]Russia will continue providing military supplies under contracts to the Syrian government, which it recognizes as the legitimate authority in the country, Putin said. Russia has halted supplies of the advanced S-300 missile system, which Putin called better than the U.S. Patriot missiles. Deliveries may resume if actions are taken against Syria violating international law, he said.
UN inspectors visited the area where the alleged attack took place near Damascus and are awaiting lab results before reporting on the incident. The UN doesn’t have a mandate to determine who used the chemical weapons.
Almost six in 10 Americans oppose the U.S. conducting unilateral missile strikes against Syria, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll. The opposition drops to 51 percent if other nations such as the U.K. and France participate. Seventy percent oppose supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels.
To contact the reporters on this story: Scott Rose in Moscow at [email protected]; Henry Meyer in Moscow at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Russia's President Vladimir Putin[/h]
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines.
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, who will host a Group of 20 summit in his hometown of St. Petersburg this week, said he expected to talk with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines. Photographer: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images