Itar-Tass
September 4, 2013
West seeks to put mask of legitimacy to use force against Syria
MOSCOW: Western countries seek to “put a mask of legitimacy to use force against Syria”, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Wednesday.
“The West lacks ideas on how to portray use of force against Syria as legitimate. There are attempts to interpret the situation in different ways,” the report adds.
Armed interference should be authorized by the U.N. Security Council. The attempts to revive a notorious concept of “humanitarian intervention” bewildering, the report says. Reaction of the world community and certain states to the use of chemical weapons “should be put with the results of a thorough independent investigation”, the report says.
A possible armed action against Syria in circumvention of the U.N. Security Council “will have all signs of aggression”, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
“The United States gives anxious signals to start military intervention into the Syrian conflict in circumvention of the U.N. Security Council,” the report says, adding that “Russia believes that such position runs counter international law. Our country considers it unacceptable.”
Earlier on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called use force against Syria bypassing the U.N. Security Council, unacceptable.
In a telephone conversation with U.N./LAS Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on Wednesday, Lavrov said, “The use of force is a gross violation of international law.”
“Lavrov and Brahimi discussed the situation in Syria in the context of a possible U.S. military action. The conversation was held on the initiative of Brahimi,” the Foreign Ministry reported.
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