VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA, Sept 9: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today said a new UN resolution on Syria would be pointless if it had “no teeth”, as President Bashar al-Assad would ignore it.
On a visit to Russia, Clinton said she was willing to work with Moscow on a new UN resolution on Syria but warned that the United States would step up support to end Assad’s regime if the measure did not carry consequences.
“There is no point to passing a resolution with no teeth because we’ve seen time and time again that Assad will ignore it and keep attacking his own people,” Clinton told reporters at the end of an Asia-Pacific summit.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said after talks with Clinton that he hoped to seek UN Security Council approval for a peace plan agreed in June in Geneva that called for a ceasefire and political transition.
“I will continue to work with Foreign Minister Lavrov to see if we can revisit the idea of putting the Syrian transition plan that we agreed to in Geneva earlier this summer into a Security Council resolution,” Clinton said.
“But as I underscored yesterday with Foreign Minister Lavrov, that will only be effective if it includes consequences for non-compliance.”
Clinton said she hoped for progress but was “realistic” that the United States and Russia had differences on Syria.
If those differences persist, “then we will work with like-minded states to support a Syrian opposition to hasten the day when Assad falls and to help prepare Syria for a democratic future and help it get back on its feet”, she said.
The United States has said it is providing non-lethal assistance to the opposition in Syria, which has been a Moscow ally since the Cold War.
Clinton said that she was also “frank” about other differences with Russia including human rights.
“We are concerned by new laws that could restrict civil society and by recent measures targeting people who have spoken out about Russia’s democratic future,” Clinton said.
“Domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike understand that in the 21st century, political modernisation can and does drive economic growth and it can create stronger societies,” she said.
Clinton did not mention specific cases, but the United States has voiced alarm over recent laws seen as silencing non-governmental organisations and prison sentences for the politically charged punk band Pussy Riot. (AGENCIES)
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