Russian President Vladimir Putin will make quick visits to Berlinand Paris tomorrow originally planned to address "economic issues."But the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria and the dividebetween Russia and the West on how to respond appears certain tofigure heavily in their talks. There have been several days of active speculation that Russiamight be ready to alter its tough anti-interventionist stance inthe wake of last weekend's Houla massacre. While Russia joinedother permanent United Nations Security Council members inendorsing a rare statement condemning the government of SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assad two days later, Foreign Minister SergeiLavrov placed blame for the violence on both sides and Russianofficials have been quick to deny that the condemnation is a signit is softening its resistance. Several Western states are proposing harsher sanctions againstSyria. On May 29, newly elected French President Fran oisHollande said that foreign military intervention in Syria "can't beruled out," if it is approved by the Security Council, andindicated that he might ask Mr. Putin not to stand in the way.Speaking to an audience of students in Copenhagen today, USSecretary of State Hillary Clinton upped the criticism of Russia,saying, "I have been telling (the Russians) their policy is goingto help contribute to a civil war" in Syria. But today Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responded emphaticallythat Russian policy toward Syria will not change under duress.Russia's position is "well-known, balanced and consistent, andcompletely logical," Mr. Peskov told the independent Interfax newsagency. "So it is hardly appropriate to talk about this positionchanging under someone s pressure." Moscow has taken a lot of heat internationally for vetoing twoSecurity Council resolutions that would have pressured Mr. Assad tostep down and potentially paved the way for greater outsideinvolvement in the crisis. Russian foreign policy experts say that Moscow's unwillingness toback down on its refusal to license any foreign intervention isbased on several factors, all of which have been clearly thoughtout and seen as rooted in national interest. Russian analysts argue that any violation of national sovereigntyis a form of neoimperialism which, even if packaged as ahumanitarian intervention, tends to be wrapped up with thegeopolitical interests of the intervening powers and seldom leadsto better humanitarian outcomes. They cite most of the wars of thepast decade, from Kosovo to Iraq to last year's NATO interventionin Libya (which Russia acquiesced to in the Security Council) tomake their point. "We were told that military interference in Libya would be limitedto protecting civilians, but we were deceived, pushed aside oncewe'd let it get through the Security Council," says Pavel Gusterin,an Arab specialist with the official Institute of Oriental Studiesin Moscow. "Why would we let them do this again?" Russia does have major political and economic interests in Syria, aSoviet and Russian client state since 1971, including about $5billion in arms contracts, and the use of a naval supply station atthe Syrian port of Tartous. But many Russian analysts insist that it's not so much aboutmaterial interests, as it is that the West has simply not made aconvincing case to Russia for why it should abandon Assad andassent to Western-led intervention in Syria. "We think we know how the world works as well as anyone else, andour diplomats have been active in the Middle East for a long time.We do not have the slightest romantic illusion that something thatcomes after Assad will be better," says Yevgeny Satanovsky,president of the independent Institute of Middle Eastern Studies inMoscow. "We know that if the Assad regime is destroyed, Syria willdissolve in chaos.. "Our Western colleagues point to these terrible atrocities, such asthe massacre in Houla last weekend, and say, 'We have to dosomething!' But your own Western track record shows that you getthe regime change you wanted, then lose all interest in thehumanitarian problems," he says. "As for Russia, we've learned to base our policy on nationalinterest. Not a single promise made to us by the West in recentdecades has been fulfilled. We simply don't believe Western leadersknow what they're doing, and we're not listening to all thatchatter anymore. So, Russia's Syria policy will remain basicallythe same, and there is no significant debate over this in theRussian establishment today.". I am an expert from betapack.cn, while we provides the quality product, such as Poly Mailer Manufacturer , Pearlized Envelopes, Poly Mailer,and more.
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