French FM doubtful Russia will back UN’s Syria resolution

January 31, 2012 - 18:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe expressed doubt Tuesday, January 31 that Western powers would be able to win Russia over to a draft UN resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Speaking to Europe 1 radio before leaving for a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Juppe said the 11-month conflict in Syria, which the UN estimates has killed over 5,400 people, was “a real scandal,” M&C reported citing DPA.

But he was doubtful that Russia could be persuaded to support the latest Western-backed resolution, which was drafted on the basis of an Arab League peace plan.

“Alas, I'm not sure,” he said when asked whether the text had a chance of succeeding. “We're blocked by a number of countries, mainly Russia, which opposes every resolution (on Syria),” he said.

The conflict pitting Assad's regime against demonstrators and rebels seeking his ouster has escalated sharply in recent days, with government troops trying to fight back rebels on the outskirts of Damascus.

Besides Juppe, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague will also travel to New York Tuesday to try convince the 15-nation council to back the text.

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