[Dawn] A regional group led by Russia and China said Thursday it opposed military intervention in the Middle East, a day after the Syrian opposition accused forces loyal to the regime of massacring 100 people.The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) statement called for a "peaceful resolution of the Syrian problem through political dialogue", adding the use of force against Iran -- an ally of both Beijing and Moscow -- was "unacceptable".
"Member states are against military intervention into this region's affairs, forcing a 'handover of power' or using unilateral sanctions," said the declaration, issued at the end of a summit in Beijing attended by the leaders of Russia, China and Iran, among others.
Moscow and Beijing have consistently opposed international intervention in Syria, but they face growing pressure to change their stance after 15 months of conflict in which more than 13,500 people are said to have died.
On Wednesday, an exiled opposition group said forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
had "massacred" about 100 people including women and kiddies -- a claim the regime denied -- as the US demanded a full transfer of power.
The call by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as
For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillaryand at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Henry Kissinger...
set the stage for a renewed diplomatic stalemate.
Russia and China have vetoed two Security Council resolutions against Assad's regime, but backed UN-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy Kofi Annan
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...'s blueprint to end the conflict.
The Annan plan was supposed to begin with a ceasefire from April 12, but doubts have emerged about its effectiveness as violence has raged on despite the deployment of nearly 300 UN observers.
The SCO statement also expressed "serious concern about the situation around Iran", which is an observer nation to the organization that groups together China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
"Any attempts to solve the Iranian problem with force are unacceptable and could lead to unpredictable circumstances that threaten stability and security in the region and the entire world," it said.