MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) — As the UN Security Council prepares to discuss a new resolution concerning Syria, Russia keeps trying to define its own tough stance on the issue.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Friday that Russia opposes any military strike against Syria and its position in the Security Council on the issue would be “restrained and prudent.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday criticized Western calls for the Syrian opposition to refrain from dialogues with the government, describing the effort as “political provocation.”
Local experts believe that Russia should now mend the shortcomings of its diplomacy in the Libyan crisis and try to avoid stepping twice into the same river.
Learning From Libya Lesson
“Russian leadership attempts to distance itself from the Western position, partly because Moscow’s neutrality in the early stage of the Libyan crisis has born no fruits for Russia eventually,” Guren Gukasyan, a Mideast expert from the Russian Academy of Science, told Xinhua.
Irina Zvegelskaya, a professor at the Moscow-based Oriental Studies Institute, agreed that the Kremlin has learned from its unsuccessful diplomatic efforts during the similar crisis in Libya.
“Now Moscow would read the UN draft resolutions with double attention,” Zvegelskaya said.
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