Western diplomats were furious: Moscow has found serious allies on the Syrian issue
The vote in New York on the draft UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire in Aleppo can be considered a turning point for Russia in the diplomatic battles around Syria, which have been going on in New York for five years, writes Kommersant.
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“Unlike the previous vote on Syria in October, this time the veto was double - not only Russia, but also China voted against the draft resolution proposing to suspend the operation of government troops in Aleppo for a week. Beijing's position has discouraged other permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, Great Britain and France. In turn, commenting on the vote, the Syrian Foreign Ministry in its statement for the first time expressed gratitude not only to Russia, but also to China,” the publication notes.
Beijing's motives were explained by China's permanent representative to the UN, Liu Jieyi, who said that the proposed project splits world powers and does not contribute to a diplomatic settlement.
“The actions of the Chinese side caused a skirmish involving Liu Jieyi and British permanent representative Matthew Rycroft. “China’s veto is extremely surprising. Despite repeated statements against politicization and for dialogue, China supported Russia, one of the parties to the conflict,” Mr. Rycroft did not hide his dissatisfaction, accusing Beijing of “distorted faith in a despot who killed almost half a million of its citizens.”
However, the Chinese representative did not remain silent and rebuffed his British colleague, borrowing the experience of the Russian Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin of promptly responding to such situations. “I would like to ask the representative of the United Kingdom to put an end to the practice of poisoning the atmosphere in the Security Council and insulting a serious meeting. This is not the first time he has done this, and I hope that such insults will not be repeated in the future,” retorted Liu Zeyi.
The actual acquisition of a new ally on Syria in the UN Security Council in China was not Moscow’s only diplomatic success. In addition to voting against Venezuela and Angola abstaining, Egypt also declared its special position - one of the authors of the blocked draft resolution, which was jointly put forward by Spain and New Zealand together with Cairo,” the publication points out.
It is noteworthy that he did not criticize Russia and China and Egypt, which became one of the authors of the failed resolution, but, on the contrary, addressed reproaches to Western countries.
“In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed regret that “some member states insisted on submitting the draft to a vote in a form that was not approved by all countries.” Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, confirmed that the draft resolution, which was double vetoed, was circulated only a few hours before the vote. Cairo’s special position confirmed that in recent months, on the Syrian issue, Egypt has moved away from the West and the Gulf monarchies, which still demand regime change in Damascus, and has moved closer to Russia and Iran,” the newspaper notes.
“The beginning change in the position of global and regional players who do not want further diplomatic confrontation with Moscow is explained by the dynamics of the situation in Aleppo, which is changing more and more in favor of government forces every day,” Kommersant summarizes.
It is noteworthy that China has not used its veto power in UN Security Council votes on Syrian issues for more than two years.
As PolitNavigator reported, that night, through the mediation of Russia and Turkey, an agreement was reached, according to which militants are leaving most of the part of Aleppo they still controlled.
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