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US envoy slams Russia arms sales to Syria
US envoy Susan Rice on Thursday condemned “reprehensible” Russian arms deliveries to Syria as she stepped up US calls for increased international pressure on President Bashar al-Assad. The US ambassador to the United Nations also accused the Damascus government of stating a “blatant lie” by denying it was involved in a massacre in which 108 people were killed.

“With respect to the reported docking of a ship carrying Russian arms, this is obviously of the utmost concern given that the Syrian government continues to use deadly force against civilians,” Rice told reporters at UN headquarters.

“It is not technically, obviously, a violation of international law since there is not an arms embargo, but it is reprehensible that arms would continue to flow to a regime that is using such horrific and disproportionate force against its own people,” Rice said.

A Russian ship carrying arms reportedly arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus last weekend. Russia is Syria’s last main international ally and has defended Assad in UN Security Council debates on the uprising against him.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin has rejected criticism of the arms sales insisting that they are legal and have no influence on the Syria conflict.
The former is technically true, the latter is, well, as Russian a statement as you could ask...
Rice also condemned the Syrian government’s denials of involvement in a massacre in the town of Houla last week in which at least 108 people died. The ambassador dismissed the Syrian government’s statement that the massacre was carried out by “armed groups”.

“I think quite simply it’s another blatant lie,” she said. “There is no factual evidence, including that provided by the UN observers that would substantiate that rendition of events.”
Posted by: Steve White 2012-06-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=345760