On
Damascus
Bombing,
Churkin Quotes
US As Unsure
if Terrorist
Attack
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 29 --
After a Syria
briefing by UN
envoy Lakhdar
Brahimi, Inner
City Press
asked Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
about the
status of the
draft press
statement
Russia
circulated in
the Security
Council on
Wednesday, on
which Inner
City Press reported,
and is now putting online,
condemning the
Damascus
bombing.
Churkin
said
that first
some Council
members asked
for more time
-- Inner
City Press
understands
that the
silence
procedure was
extended to 10
am -- and then
the United
States said
"no."
Pulling
a
sheet of paper
out of his
pocket,
Churkin read
out loud what
he
said was the
response from
the United
States --
whose
Ambassador
Susan Rice was
seen entering
the Security
Council before
the session
-- that there
was "not
sufficient
information to
label it a
terrorist
attack." This
has a certain
echo.
(When
Inner City
Press asked
Syria's Bashar
Ja'afari about
the US quote,
he said it
proves the US
is "protecting
those who
perpetrate
these acts.")
Inner
City Press
also asked
Churkin for
Russia's view
of the plan to
put
NATO missiles
on Turkey's
border with
Syria. He
quoted foreign
minister
Lavrov, that
weapons
brought into a
conflict zone
tend to
then be used.
Then attention
turned to the
afternoon's
Palestine
Observer State
vote.
, 
