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Russia Urges The U.S. Not To Use Force Against Syria

Sara Newman |
August 31, 2013 | 10:54 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

Syrians hold posters with the faces of Assad and Putin at a pro-Asad protest, photo via Creative Commons
Syrians hold posters with the faces of Assad and Putin at a pro-Asad protest, photo via Creative Commons
While the main issue that must be settled for Syria to return to relative peace is the Syrian balance of power, the United States and Russia are getting wrapped up in a power struggle of their own. 

The U.S. has become increasingly adamant in their opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Secretary of State, John Kerry, leading the denunciation of the Syrian President. Meanwhile, Russian officials have made it quite clear that they do not appreciate American criticisms of Assad. 

In his first official statement since the alleged chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21, Putin urged President Barack Obama to strongly consider whether imposing an American strike on Syria would end up helping, or merely increase the violence that the country is already facing. 

On Friday, Putin’s foreign policy advisor complained that Russia has not seen America’s evidence proving the role of Syria’s federal government in the attack. 

The following day, Putin went so far as to call American concerns over chemical warfare in Syria “utter nonsense.”

Putin is under the impression that the Syrian rebels were involved in the alleged chemical attack in order to gain American support.

The Russian President is encouraging President Obama to present any evidence of Assad’s involvement in chemical warfare to the United Nations, rather than having the U.S. get directly involved in the Syrian power struggle. 

"If there is evidence it should be presented," Putin said. "If it is not presented, that means it does not exist." 

The United States http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/world/meast/syria-civil-war/ " target="_blank">plans to share their findings about the chemical weapons with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ki-moon, however, has stated his intentions to wait until the final report is completed—which could take a week—before sharing the findings with the U.N. Security Council. 

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has made it clear that Russia is opposed to the use of any force against the Syrian government without prior approval from the U.N. Security Council. He further stated that Russia would vote against such a resolution. 

Read more Neon Tommy coverage of Syria here

Reach Executive Producer Sara Newman here and follow her on Twitter .



 

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