Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria

Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press – 49 minutes ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia will stonewall any U.N. sanctions on Syria and will push for a quick start of talks between the Syrian government and the country's opposition, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would block any attempts to get the U.N. approval for sanctions against Syria that have been imposed by other nations, saying that such a move would be "unfair and counterproductive."

¬snip¬

Lavrov said Russia's own draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution on the violence in Syria, which circulated earlier this month, remains on the table, and that Moscow was open for any "constructive proposals." Western diplomats said the Russian proposal fell short of their demand for a strong condemnation of the Syrian regime's crackdown on civilians.

But Lavrov reaffirmed that any U.N. resolution must say clearly it "couldn't be interpreted to justify any foreign military interference in the Syrian crisis."

more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ij9Bq_zJPrbRHWQ2tv4Y0Z-viKYA?docId=e988264528fe47cc9f4911c64c61d1b6