Russia Warns U.S., Chinese Oppose Syria Strikes

As Russia warns the U.S. over expected airstrikes in Syria, China has also condemned the use of force before the United Nations completes an investigation into the situation on the ground.

As The Inquisitr reported earlier, Russia warns the U.S. will be in “grave violation of international law” should airstrikes against Syria be carried out without U.N. approval or counsel.

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich urged “prudence” regarding Syria, as well as observance of international conventions regarding such actions.

In a statement, Lukashevich said:

“Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa.”

Lukashevich also called out the United States by name in the caution, adding:

“We are calling on our American partners and all members of the world community to demonstrate prudence [as well as] strict observance of international law, especially the fundamental principles of the UN Charter.”

While Russia warns U.S. agencies that action in Syria without U.N. approval could be “catastrophic” for relations in the region, China suggests that the American government will be acting in haste if they move in to “protect civilians” following reports of gas attacks against Syrian people.

The BBC reports that Xinhua, China’s news agency, said as much in recent coverage on possible airstrikes in Syria:

“The official Chinese news agency, Xinhua, said Western powers were rushing to conclusions about who may have used chemical weapons in Syria before UN inspectors had completed their investigation.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC that the U.N. has not sufficiently acted to protect Syrians, saying:

“The United Nations Security Council has not shouldered its responsibilities on Syria otherwise there would have been a better chance of bringing this conflict to an end a long time ago… is it possible to act on chemical weapons, is it possible to respond to chemical weapons without complete unity on the UN Security Council? I would argue, yes it is. Otherwise, of course, it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes and I don’t think that is an acceptable situation.”

He concluded:

“It is possible to take action based on great humanitarian need and humanitarian distress, it’s possible to do that under many different scenarios. But anything we propose to do on this, the strong response that we’ve talked about, whatever form that takes, will be in accordance with international law.”

As Russia warns U.S agencies not to act, Secretary of State John Kerry promises further information and intelligence on cause to act in Syria will be released in coming days.