the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
"regrets" the Security Council's failure to agree a resolution on Syria and believes there is a "moral obligation to prevent further bloodshed," his front man said Wednesday.
The diplomatic concept of "regret" involves placing the tips of all five fingers on the forehead and heaving a heavy sigh. One may then order lunch.
"The secretary general regrets that the Security Council has not been able to agree and hopes that it will overcome its divisions and find a collective way to address the situation," front man Martin Nesirky said of Russia and China's veto of a European-backed resolution on Syria.
Ban "believes that the violence in Syria is unacceptable and cannot continue like this and he has been calling on the international community to speak and act in a coherent manner," the front man told a briefing.
"He believes we have a moral obligation to prevent further bloodshed and help the people of Syria out of this dangerous crisis."
Russia and China vetoed a Security Council resolution late Tuesday which would have threatened possible measures against
President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad's
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
government.
Western nations have expressed anger at the veto, but Russia and China said any hint of sanctions is unacceptable.
According to the UN, more than 2,700 people have died in the crackdown on protests in Syria over the past seven months. Ban himself has said that Assad has "lost all humanity".