French are getting wobbly ...
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‘Large coalition must be created if UNSC doesn’t agree on #Syria’ - Hollande #G20 http://on.rt.com/0yh5ju
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Hollande: France to decide about actions against #Syria after Congress decision and results of UN investigation http://on.rt.com/0yh5ju #G20
http://rt.com/news/syria-crisis-live-updates-047/
13:03 GMT: A military strike on Syria will put an end to all the efforts made by the UN-Arab League envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, to politically resolve the conflict, agreed the participates of the G20 summit breakfast meeting, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“I cannot say that this was the prevailing opinion, but many responsible states are coming to a very clear understanding that the use of force, bypassing the UN Security Council, will put an end to all efforts for a political resolution and carrying out the Geneva-2 peace conference made by Lakhdar Brahimi,” Lavrov said.
“Our common conclusion is to do everything possible to prevent the military scenario in Syria,” Lavrov added. “There is still time for this.”
The US did not participate, while Canada, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Senegal, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, France and Russia were present at the meeting.
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Syria_9
Speaking at the G20 summit in St Petersburg, French President Hollande says France will wait for both the U.S. Congress vote and the report of the U.N. inspectors before deciding on participating in any military action on Syria. www.reuters.com
We also heard from U.N.-Arab League peace mediator on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi today that “International law says that no country is allowed to take the law into their hands - they have to go through the Security Council.” www.reuters.com
Perhaps he’s responding to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, who said on Thursday that the United States was closing the door on the council when it comes to the Syrian crisis because Russia is holding it “hostage.”
Here’s what she said: “Our considered view, after months of efforts on chemical weapons and after 2-1/2 years of efforts on Geneva (peace talks), the humanitarian situation is that there is no viable path forward in this Security Council.”
As the United States did in Kosovo in 1999, Washington will bypass the council and will not seek U.N. authorization for any military action in Syria, Power said. In 1999, Washington relied on NATO authorization for its bombing campaign, which forced Serbian troops and militia to pull out of Kosovo.
A full story on Power’s comments can be seen here: www.reuters.com
by Louis Charbonneau 10:27 AM