Brussels, 06/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - After the United Nations Security Council resolution was blocked on Saturday 4 February, the West and the countries of the Arab League have decided to further ratchet up the pressure on the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The EU “will further toughen sanctions and we will try to have international pressure increased. A time has to come when the regime will be forced to admit that it is totally isolated and cannot continue”, said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé on Sunday. “We will help the Syrian opposition to structure and organise.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that, given the Security Council's failure to take action, efforts would have to be increased outside the UN, with allies and partners who support the right of the Syrian people to have a better future. The United States is expected to toughen its sanctions and, on Monday, closed its embassy in Syria.
Western countries and the Arab League could put in place a body which would ensure that European and American sanctions, Turkish support for the free Syrian army and Arab League action are all closely coordinated to bring maximum pressure to bear on Assad.
Russian and Chinese vetoes. The decisions come after the Security Council resolution was vetoed by Russian and China. These two countries argue that taking action to assist in bringing the regime down would be tantamount to intervening in a civil war.
EU High Representative Catherine Ashton deeply regretted that the Security Council “was unable to support the call of the League of Arab States for an inclusive, Syrian-led political process conducted in an environment free from violence”. Calling “once more” on all members of the Security Council to assume their responsibilities, she said that “the time has come to speak with one voice and demand an end to the bloodshed and speak out for a democratic future for Syria”. UK Foreign Minister said that Russian and China had “blood on their hands”.
The Syrian National Council (SNC) described this “irresponsible” decision as permission for the Syrian regime to kill with impunity. Disappointed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the vote “undermines the role of the United Nations and the international community in this period when the Syrian authorities must hear a unified voice”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lambasted what he called the “indecent, almost hysterical” reactions following the vetoes. “These hysterical statements are only to conceal what is happening, that is, that the violence in Syria is from several different areas”, he added. Lavrov will travel to Damascus on Tuesday to discuss “essential democratic reforms” that have to be put in place immediately. (CG/transl.rt)