The lower house of Russia’s Parliament, the State Duma, on Friday called on the UN Security Council not to take sides in the Syrian months-long conflict, saying this approach undermines chances for a fair dialogue and peaceful settlement.
“The imbalanced approach, which was in fact stated in the last [UN] draft resolution on Syria, undermines chances for fair and constructive dialogue,” Duma deputies said in a document adopted on Friday.
Russian representatives in the UN concur with the Russian leadership’s position that the conflict should be regulated through all-inclusive dialogue, deputies said.
“The State Duma highly condemns the practice of military meddling in other state’s affairs or forcing their own decision on them. A document implying or conceding such intervention without direct sanctions by the UN Security Council cannot be backed by Russia,” the document said.
Deputies urged the UN Security Council not to adopt resolutions calling for coups and a change in the political regime in Syria as only people living in the country should make such a decision.
Russia has firmly supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the uprising against his rule. Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria, backed by the Arab League and Western nations, to prevent a repetition of “the Libyan scenario.”
Those member states of the UN Security Council that lay responsibility for the aggravation of the Syrian conflict on Russia and China “purportedly disorient the world community as it was in Libya,” deputies said.
Duma urged the parties involved in the Syrian conflict to restrain from violence and realize the responsibility for the country’s people and proceed to dialogue aimed to find compromises.
The deputies called on the countries from the League of Arab Nations to continue actively bolstering Syrian dialogue and extend the presence of its peace mission in the conflict-torn country.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday called on the Arab world, the United States and Europe to refrain from passing judgment on the national dialogue in Syria before it has even begun.
RIA Novosti
