Syria: Russia's Lavrov Accuses US Of Blackmail

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Sky News

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the only reason the West was agreeing to the discussions it had proposed was so it could draw up a UN resolution that would open the way to military action.

Mr Lavrov said: "Our American partners are beginning to blackmail us."

He claimed the US was threatening to stop work on implementing Syria's chemical disarmament deal unless Russia supports a Security Council resolution allowing military intervention.

"Right now Western partners are trying to unceremoniously push through a resolution under Chapter VII," he said, adding that it successful, it would "move the (chemical weapons) convention aside to advance individual, personal or geopolitical, state ambitions".

Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/1145041/syria-russias-lavrov-accuses-us-of-blackmail

[snappyturtle]

1. Again, the powers that be want war. nt

[PragmaticLiberal]

5. You may very well be right.

Or the other "powers that be" (in this case Russia) want to protect their client Syria at all costs......

[dmr]

2. I guess everybody's got an opinion,

or an agenda to push.

I'm not too familiar with Sky News.

[dipsydoodle]

3. The two main UK tv news channels are the BBC and Sky.

BBC is public owned by Royal Charter and Sky by BSkyB. Both are distinguished by generally having their own reporters on the spot particularly in the ME, and currently in Kenya for example , as opposed to reporting the news of others. They often cross refer to each other.

[Turborama]

9. Sky News was created by Rupert Murdoch and is Fox News' sister channel...

It is also distributed intertnationally by Fox International...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News_Channel

[dipsydoodle]

11. That's apart from it being nothing whatsoever like Fox

and being more or less iindistinguishable from the BBC in terms of how news is reported. If they did differ in any way they would look absurd in the eyes of the public. thta's here in the UK - can't speak for the international service.

Sky News is partly owned by BSkyB . Had Murdoch succeeded in taking over BSkyb he's have been obliged to set Sky News completely free from both News Corp and BSkyb leaving it as a wholly independent news force..

News is only invalid if its untrue - the source is not material and need only be contra'd by proof of it being untrue. In this case the source was a live Russian radio broadcast reported by many. Would only be false news if Lavrov was misquoted.

[Turborama]

16. I was responding to a request for some information about Sky News

Sky News is broadcast live around the world, thanks to Fox International. The only difference is there aren't any British ads.

It always refers to its "sister channel" Fox News whenever a story from the US is coming in. Either they link up to a live broadcast of Fox, or one of Fox's staff giving an overview to a Sky News anchor.

I watched a lot of Sky News' coverage of the 2010 election and there was bias towards the Tories/against Labour. It was much more subtle than Fox, as it has to be by law, but nevertheless it was there.

People can Google "sack Kay Burley" to see one of the most obvious occurrences of the mask slipping.

[karynnj]

17. Or if it were Lavrov who is speaking beyond the facts

Amazing that you implicitly give him 100% credibility - while willing to believe the worst of Kerry and Obama.

[dipsydoodle]

18. The OPCW issue would be an extremely odd subject to make up / fabricate.

That is the actual subject of the issue. Kerry is perfectly capable of denying it but appears not to have done so. Doing so may further increase the likelyhood of Russia vetoing a resolution containing Ch.7 anyway.

[Cryptoad]

4. This may be serious,,,,,,,,

we all know diplomats always tell the Truth!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Though the chemicals agreement is the way forward, I've been skeptical of Syrian-Russian motives.

It would seem to be too easy for Assad to turn over what would be supposedly all of the chemical weapons, but hold out some quantities secretly to release and call it a rebel release of chemicals.

Sometimes I think that the US and France should just guarantee in writing that the Russians can keep their Syrian naval base whatever the final outcome of the conflict (and defend the base with force jointly with the Russians) if the Russians will drop their support of Assad.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Russia will have the part numbers of the missiles supplied to Yemen, Libya and Egypt 1960's.

Given that information the UN may be able to trace their path to date to help determine exactly who used them.

See : "Gas missiles 'were not sold to Syria'" http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023712251

[former9thward]

12. So Syria should become a U.S. colony?

That is the only way the U.S. could guarantee a base to another country. Syria has to submit to whatever demands the Big Powers imposes? This is 2013 not 1913.

[azurnoir]

8. also from the article

Mr Lavrov's comments came as a mortar round slammed into the compound of the Russian embassy in Damascus, the first such hit against the site.

The attack, which caused no injuries, was confirmed by an embassy source speaking to Syrian state news agency SANA, as well as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog.

wonder which side did it, and who supplied the weapons

[Sunlei]

10. they better close down fox empire before they rule your country too

It may be to late.

[dipsydoodle]

13. Elsewhere you'll find that CNN are running it too.

Maybe our home Sky differs from the international version - the BBC's sure does and in their case you just get suitably censored news.

Aside from that shooting the messenger serves no useful purpose. Would be more productive if you could post news to the contrary.

[Sunlei]

14. Here's how I get 'news to the contrary' of that russian statement about blackmail.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/

The text of all our diplomatic meetings are here. I can't find any blackmail as was a quote from russias Lavrov- pushed by fox, the arm of the RW Corp. world rulers.

[dipsydoodle]

15. I assume then that you used the same source

when GWB was President. Good luck with that.

We doubtless have a UK equivalent. Do you think we believed Blair ?

[Sunlei]

21. when GB was president there wasn't anything decent online for our Gov.

The Gov. websites were pitiful. Was hard to find any public records. If we used our 'freedom of information act' to ask for a record..it took years. They still were using books and paper maps.

Knew when I saw the soon to be Pres. O was a blackberry man, when he got elected we were in for a major upgrade. And so it was First day of office he started the upgrade. That first day he changed the FOIA system. Requests I've done take much less time now.

I'd never believe anyone who says, "they are blackmailed" yet provides nothing as proof.

[Comrade Grumpy]

20. That's how it works. Lavrov makes a statement. The US makes a statement.

The truth may lie in between.

[Comrade Grumpy]

19. There has been a whole lot of flak about the sourcing of this story.

And not just on this thread.

But that seems kind of silly. Lavrov was being quoted directly. He either said it or he didn't, and there is no suggestion he didn't.

But being unhappy with the source doesn't make it go away.

I understand being skeptical of certain media sources, but sometimes it just seems like a mindless reflex.

[Turborama]

22. I think you're reading too much into the discussion about Sky News n/t