Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

At UN on Syria, Russia Tells Press "Unacceptable Conceptually," Not Like Libya

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 4 -- While European members of the Security Council puzzled over whether statements from Moscow deeming the Syria draft resolution "unacceptable" means a Russian veto or just abstention, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Pankin spoke with clarity to the Press.

  The draft is "unacceptable conceptually," he told Inner City Press. Not only the threat of sanctions or targeted measures -- he said Paragraph 9 has been renumbered -- but Russia also wants references to distancing from extremists and "no military option from the outset."

  Asked if Russia might abstain, Pankin said both that "this will not be like Libya and [Resolution] 1973" and that on this there will be "consensus or no resolution." Then his cell phone rang.

Pankin talks Turkey, backed then by Vladimir Safronkov, who came for GA

  The Europeans, beyond happy thoughts that this still meant an abstention, wondered about the fluid position of IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), musing about splits within the IBSA. But will it even get to that? Watch this site.