William Hague has a rather awkward meeting in his diary today with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The pair were due to discuss Syria, and now they can also discuss David Cameron’s provocative comments at the United Nations last night.
The Prime Minister told the UN General Assembly that the ongoing atrocities in the country were a ‘terrible stain’ on the hands of the UN. He said:
‘The blood of these young children is a terrible stain on the reputation of this United Nations. And in particular, a stain on those who have failed to stand up to these atrocities and in some cases aided and abetted Assad’s reign of terror.
‘If the United Nations Charter is to have any value in the 21st century, we must now join together to support a rapid political transition. And at the same time no-one of conscience can turn a deaf ear to the voices of suffering. Security Council members have a particular responsibility to support the UN appeal for Syria.’
Those pointed remarks were aimed at Russia and China, and followed an appeal to Mr Cameron from Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi for more pressure on the Security Council for tougher sanctions on Syria.
But Russia and China insist that the way forward is to engage with President Assad. Cameron was clear that Syria’s future is one without the president. There is no sign of that divide being bridged. And until it is, there will be more terrible discoveries of bodies of men, women and children slaughtered in the country, as there was yesterday.
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