Clinton Hopes Russia, China to Change Stance on Syria

RIA Novosti

04:43 25/02/2012 CAIRO, February 25 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped the international society will help convincing Russia and China on changing their stance in regard to Syria.

Russia and China, the two veto-wielding UN Security Council members, blocked earlier in February a resolution on Syria that called on President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

“They must understand they are setting themselves against the aspirations not only of the Syrian people but of the entire Arab Spring, the Arab Awakening,” Clinton said at a news conference during the meeting of the Friends of Syria Group in Tunisia.

“The sooner the Russians and the Chinese move toward supporting action in the Security Council, the sooner we can get a resolution that would permit us to take the kind of steps that we all know need to be taken,” she added.

Syria for almost a year is living under continuous anti-government protests. According to the UN, the total number of victims in the country has exceeded 5,400 people. The Syrian authorities said that over 2,000 military and law enforcement officials were killed in clashes with well-armed militants.