Why the UN Suspended Ineffective Observer Mission in Syria
The UN has suspended its two-month old observer mission in Syria. Norwegian General Robert Mood, who was running the effort meant to monitor a cease-fire that never materialized, is now expected in New York next week to discuss what comes next. That is likely to be a messy and inconclusive conversation.
Russia remains as committed as ever to opposing UN Security Council authorization of international military action. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this week that Russia has been shipping defensive weapons to Syria to prevent outside military intervention, and in an interview published in The New York Times yesterday, the head of the Russian government’s arms export agency Rosoboronexport said those shipments include advanced air defense systems.
“These mechanisms are really a good means of defense, a reliable defense against attacks from the air or sea,” Anatoly P. Isaykin, Rosoboronexport’s general director, told the paper. “This is not a threat, but whoever is planning an attack should think about this.”