Syria: Russian pressure ‘hardly appropriate’ says Vladimir Putin’s spokesman

May 30th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Two people were killed in the region of Hama when fighting took place in the
town of Kafarzita between troops and rebels. Later, in Hama city, residents
held a general strike to mourn the deaths of the two men.

In Jabal al-Zawiya, a rebel commander was killed in northeastern Idlib.

A sniper shot dead a man at Aleppo in the north, while unidentified gunmen
killed an 18-year-old in eastern Deir Ezzor. A rebel fighter was also killed
in the same province, the Observatory added.

In the same region, visiting UN monitors condemned the killing of 13 people
whose bodies were found late Tuesday at Assukar, near Deir Ezzor, many of
whom had been shot at close range, they said.

Earlier, China restated its opposition to military intervention in Syria, as
Russia sought to halt fresh UN Security Council action after a massacre of
civilians sparked global fury.

The renewed support by Moscow and Beijing for the Damascus regime came as
numerous Western nations, including the United States, Britain and France,
expelled Syrian diplomats in the wake of Friday’s massacre and after France
floated the idea of armed intervention to protect civilians.

“China opposes military intervention in Syria and opposes regime change
by force,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters in
Beijing.

Liu added that China urged all parties to implement UN-Arab League envoy Kofi
Annan’s ceasefire proposal in Syria and to seek to end the bloody crisis
through negotiations.

With Russian and Chinese support, the UN Security Council on Sunday strongly
condemned the Syrian government for using artillery in a massacre in the
central town of Houla in which at least 108 people were killed.

But Russia, which along with China has vetoed two UN Security Council
resolutions highly critical of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, on
Wednesday said it was “premature” for the council to consider new
action.

“We believe that a review now by the Security Council of any new measures
on the situation would be premature,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady
Gatilov told the Interfax news agency in comments that appeared to dash
Washington’s hopes of a change of heart in Moscow.

The US State Department had said on Tuesday it hoped the Houla tragedy would
spark a “turning point” in Russia’s reluctance to take tougher
action against its Soviet-era ally.

Annan, during a meeting with Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, urged the Syrian
leader to act immediately to end 15 months of bloodshed which has claimed
thousands of lives, warning that the country had reached a “tipping
point.”

French President Francois Hollande had said on Tuesday that he did not rule
out military intervention, provided it were approved by the UN Security
Council.

“An armed intervention is not excluded on the condition that it is
carried out with respect to international law, meaning after deliberation by
the United Nations Security Council,” he said in a television
interview.

Australia said it was open to discussion about military intervention in Syria
but warned of the significant challenges involved in getting it off the
ground.

Japan on Wednesday joined the chorus of international outrage at the slaughter
of civilians in Houla, telling the Syrian ambassador in Tokyo to leave the
country “as soon as possible.”

Japan’s decision followed the apparently coordinated expulsion of diplomats
the previous day by the European Union, the United States and other
governments including Australia, Canada and Switzerland.

Annan was in Amman on Wednesday to discuss the Syrian crisis with Jordan’s
leaders, after appearing to make little headway to staunch the bloodletting
during his visit Monday and Tuesday to Syria.

On Tuesday alone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
total of 98 people were killed across Syria with another nine dying
violently on Wednesday morning.

Speaking after his talks with the Syrian leader in the capital, Annan lamented
the continuing killings and abuses that have fatally undermined his peace
blueprint, which was supposed to begin with a ceasefire from April 12 that
has never taken hold.

“I appealed to him (Assad) for bold steps now – not tomorrow, now – to
create momentum for the implementation of the plan.

“This means that the government, and all government-backed militias,
could stop all military operations and show maximum restraint.”

The Syrian authorities have repeatedly insisted that the lion’s share of the
blame for the deaths lies with armed rebels, a position Assad restated in
his talks with Annan.

“The success of the Annan plan depends on the end of terrorist acts and
those who support them and the smuggling of weapons,” Assad was quoted
as saying.

But UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous pointed the finger towards a militia
loyal to Assad.

“There is strong suspicion that the Shabiha were involved in this tragedy
in Houla,” Ladsous told reporters at the UN headquarters.

More than 13,000 people have been killed, most of them civilians, since the
uprising against Assad’s regime erupted in March last year, according to the
Britain-based Observatory.

Source: agencies