Russia tackle UN over showdown with Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The United Nations should not meddle in Syria’s “internal” conflict, Russia’s UN envoy said Tuesday, rejecting a resolution calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign.

The ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said there was “possibly a last chance to break the spiral of violence which has swept away Syria and its people.”

But he said that the UN Security Council “cannot impose the parameters for an internal settlement. It simply has not the mandate to do so.”

“We are convinced that at a time of extreme internal political crisis the role of the international community should not be one of exacerbating crisis,” Churkin said.

“Russia, which enjoys close friendly contact with the Syrian people and the Arab world, from the very beginning fought to ensure the Syrian people would be able to decide for itself.”