West steps up pleas to Russia and China over Syria

The United States and European powers on Monday stepped up pleas to Russia and China to join UN Security Council action to force Syria's president halt deadly attacks on protest cities.

But Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected what he called the "risky recipes" of unilateral sanctions and regime change and China said it would not accept military intervention in Syria.

Syria dominated a UN Security Council ministerial meeting on the Arab uprisings, which came a day after UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan left Damascus where he met President Bashar al-Assad.

"I add my voice to that of Mr Annan in urging President Assad to act swiftly, within the next few days, in response to the proposals put forward" by the envoy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the meeting.

"I appeal to the Security Council to unite strongly behind ending the violence and supporting Mr. Annan's mission to help Syria pull back from the brink of a deeper catastrophe," he added.

Russia and China have twice used their powers as permanent Security Council members to veto resolutions on Syria, saying they were unbalanced and only sought regime change.

The other permanent members -- the United States, Britain and France -- heightened their condemnation of Assad, but also urged Russia and China to agree a resolution.

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe appealed directly to Russia and China, while also calling on the council to order an International Criminal Court investigation into the Syria crackdown, where the UN says more than 7,500 people have died in the past year.

"After months of blocking, I appeal to China and Russia to hear the voices of the Arabs and the world conscience and join us," Juppe said.

"How cynical that, even as Assad was receiving former Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Syrian army was conducting a fresh assault on Idlib and continuing its aggression in Hama, Homs, and Rastan," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the meeting.

Clinton said after the meeting that she believed the Russian minister had heard "how strong the feelings are" and "that we expect all nations including Russia and China to join us now in pressing the Assad regime to silence the guns."

"The situation in Syria casts a long shadow over this debate," declared Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague, whose country organized the debate as president of the Security Council for March.

"In the eyes of the overwhelming majority of the world, this council has so far failed in its responsibilities towards the Syrian people."

But Lavrov said "ultimatums will not work" in the Security Council and repeated Russia's condemnation of NATO's airstrikes in Libya to justify its opposition to the West's campaign on Syria.

Change in the Arab world "must not be achieved by misleading the international community or manipulating the Security Council," Lavrov said.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that the Syrian authorities bear a huge share of responsibility for the situation," Lavrov said. But he added the government was now fighting armed groups, not just unarmed protesters.

Lavrov condemned "hasty demands for regime change, imposing unilateral sanctions designed to trigger economic difficulties and social tensions in the country, inducing the opposition to continue its confrontation with authorities instead of promoting dialogue."

All, he added, were "risky recipes of geopolitical engineering which can only result in a spread of the conflict."

China's UN envoy Li Baodong insisted there could be no military intervention in Syria and denied that "self-interests" had motivated his country's veto of the two resolutions.

"No external parties should engage in military intervention in Syria and push for regime change," Li told the meeting.

"No Chinese self-interests are involved in the question of Syria," Li added. "We do not favor any particular party, nor do we go out of our way to impose any party."

China would give $2 million to the International Committee for the Red Cross to contribute to humanitarian aid for Syria, he said.