Moscow blasts UNHRC's 'Hezbollah-focused' resolution on Syria

Russia's Foreign Ministry has slammed the UN Human Rights Council resolution, which condemned Hezbollah’s role in Syria, for ignoring crimes committed by “mercenary-terrorists from abroad” fighting in the rebels’ ranks.

The council has denounced the Lebanese Hezbollah movement for supporting the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, but stopped short of calling for a halt to the flow of weapons into the country.

The text, which was passed Friday, had been presented by Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, which all back the opposition forces in the two-year conflict.

“The resolution is biased and counterproductive,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in statement on Saturday. “It is directed against the government of Syria and ignores the crimes committed by the radical opposition.”

“The document condemns the involvement of Hezbollah in the conflict. But its authors aren’t concerned that thousands of well-trained, armed and lavishly paid mercenary-terrorists from abroad are fighting in the war. The atrocities of jihadists are ignored, including those against religious minorities, women, and children.”

The ministry stressed that an attempt “to legitimize the Syrian National Coalition” is made in the resolution, while many other moderate opposition groups, which pledged to respect human rights and expressed willingness to participate in the Geneva Conference on Syria, are left aside.

There was no consensus over the document in the Human Rights Council itself, as Venezuela voted against the text and nine other nations abstained.

The Russian statement also pointed out that several Arab states, which previously backed the resolution, in the end refused to become the co-authors of the document.

Moscow sees it as direct evidence that “an increasing number of countries don’t intend to put their signatures under the confrontational endeavors of the HRC, which work against the political and diplomatic settlement in Syria and aren’t aimed at improving the situation with human rights in this country.”

The UN Human Rights Council resolution was adopted a day after the US announced that it will arm rebels after having obtained what it said was proof the Syrian government using chemical weapons in the conflict.