Clinton presses diplomatic offensive on Syria amid China, Russia objections

ISTANBUL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday pushed for a full transfer of power in Syria from the regime of President Bashar Assad despite opposition from Russia and China.
After a late-night strategy session with Arab and European foreign ministers and meetings Thursday morning with Turkish leaders, Clinton turned her attention to the UN and the opposition from Russia and China.
“We can’t break faith with the Syrian people who want real change,” a senior State Department official said, explaining the strategy Clinton set out in the closed-door gathering of regional and European powers.
Clinton set forth “essential elements and principles that we believe should guide that post-Assad transition strategy, including Assad’s full transfer of power,” the official added.
Other elements include “the establishment of a fully representative and inclusive interim government which leads to free and fair elections, a cease-fire to be observed by all, and equality for all Syrians under the law.”
Clinton’s latest initiative comes against the backdrop of fresh reports of massacres in Syria and growing fears in the region of a descent into a destabilizing civil war.
The views she aired in Istanbul were expected to be taken up again Thursday at the United Nations when the Security Council meets to hear special envoy Kofi Annan’s report on his battered peace plan for Syria.
Clinton was also sending her special representative on Syria, Fred Hoff, to Moscow on Thursday to sound out the Russians, the official said.
“She made clear that we want to work with Russia, but that we’ve got to have a common vision,” the official said.

'No to intervention'
Russia and China, meanwhile, poured cold water on the push to remove Assad from power in a joint statement Wednesday after two days of meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leaders.
“Russia and China are decisively against attempts to regulate the Syrian crisis with outside military intervention, as well as imposing ... a policy of regime change,” the statement said.
Hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the late-night meeting included top officials from the EU, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey.
They discussed calls made by some countries for invoking Chapter VII of the UN charter, which authorizes member states to take “all necessary measures” to carry out specific UN Security Council decisions. It can be used in some cases to authorize military action.
“The secretary made clear Chapter VII remains on the table at the appropriate time,” the official said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
France and Britain meanwhile dismissed as a non-starter a Russian proposal for an international conference that would include Syrian ally Iran.
Clinton told reporters Wednesday she would reserve judgment.
But she added: “It’s a little hard to imagine inviting a country that is stage managing the Assad regime’s assault on its people.”
Countries that provide assistance to the Syrian opposition also agreed to convene a meeting of their experts with opposition representatives in Istanbul to better coordinate the assistance.

55 dead
The Syrian opposition reported that as many as 100 people, including women and children, were massacred Wednesday in a village in central Syria.
Bu the watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday said only 55 people, mostly from the same family, have been confirmed killed.
“There are 49 confirmed and identified victims in Al-Kubeir, the majority of them from the Al-Yateem family,” said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“Among the dead are 18 women and children,” added the head of the Britain-based group.
He said six other people were also killed on Wednesday in a village near Al-Kubeir, which is located in a farming area northwest of the central city of Hama.
Earlier tolls from opposition groups had put the death toll at between 87 and 100.
Both the Observatory and the opposition Syrian National Council have blamed the massacre on militiamen loyal to President Bashar Assad’s regime, which denied involvement.
The government said a “terrorist group” was behind an assault in Al-Kubeir that it said left nine people dead.