On
Syria,
France Speaks
of Friday,
Lebanon in
Chair - Russia
Not Optimistic
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 29,
updated -- In
the run up to
a Syria
resolution
meeting
of Security
Council
Permanent
Representatives
Thursday at 4
pm,
France's
Gerard Araud
predicted a
vote on Friday
or Monday,
saying
"We've waited
too long."
Russia,
meanwhile,
indicated
Thursday
morning that
it was not
ready to vote.
Then on his
way into the
Council at 4
pm Vitaly
Churkin of
Russia was
asked about
the chance of
passing the
resolution. He
said he was
"not
optimistics,"
that concerns
had not been
addressed.
Even others
supporting the
resolution
questioned a
vote on
the last day
of the Council
Presidency of
Lebanon, which
blocked a
press
statement and
disassociated
itself from
the
Presidential
Statement on
Syria. A
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
asked Inner
City Press
rhetorically,
"Why not wait
until Nigeria
takes
over?"
Sources
described
further
changes to the
draft,
including
extending the
time for
considering
adopting
sanctions to
30 days from
15 (and in
that
earlier draft,
reference to
adopting, not
considering
adoption) and
changing
vigilance over
weapons from
Syrian
authorities to
Syria
generally,
including the
opposition.
Ja'afari at
UN, fruitful
Ban and
tomato-throwing
at Ford not
shown
There
is also talk
of urging the
opposition to
be vigilant
about
extremism, and
the
freedom
of religion
issue
still bouncing
around. So is
the Council
ready to vote
on Friday, or
even Thursday
as one
Permanent
Representative
suggested?
Watch this
site.
* * *
At
UN
on Syria,
Sanctions, ICC
& Freedom
of Religion
Spell Resolution
Trouble
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 28
-- As the
European
members of the
UN Security
Council on
Wednesday said
they were
getting Russia
and others on
board with
their
resolution on
Syria, another
Council member
told
Inner City
Press that the
disagreements
go beyond
including or
not
including a
paragraph
threatening
sanctions in
15 days.
"There's
also
the
International
Criminal
Court," the
source told
Inner City
Press,
"freedom of
religion and
how to
encourage the
opposition
to negotiate
with the
government."
The
Europeans
were to
circulate a
new draft on
Wednesday
night, for
consultations
at the expert
level on
Thursday
afternoon.
Inner
City Press
asked Syrian
Ambassador
Bashar
Ja'afari about
his foreign
minister's
meeting with
Ban Ki-moon,
and about the
position of
Turkey.
Of
the Ban
meeting,
Ja'afari told
Inner City
Press, "the
meeting was
good, it was
fruitful -
tense but
fruitful, like
everything in
diplomacy."
Of
Turkey,
Ja'afari told
Inner City
Press, "They
have their own
agenda, we
have our own.
The gap is
getting
distant
between the
two agendas."
Given
the dust up
in which the
Turkish
security of
prime minister
Erdogan beat
up UN
Security, some
found irony in
Syria's
Ambassador
praising Ban
and
criticizing
the Turks. But
so it goes at
the UN.
, 
