海角大神

鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in Syria today to meet with President Bashar al-Assad, just days after Russia and China blocked a United Nations Security Council effort to take stronger actions against Syria.

Mr. Assad鈥檚 supporters lined the streets of Damascus, waving flags 鈥� including a few Russian flags 鈥� to welcome Mr. Lavrov to the city, Reuters reports. Russia has been a staunch voice of opposition to international intervention in Syria. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov is there seeking 鈥渢he swiftest stabilization of the situation in Syria on the basis of the swiftest implementation of democratic reforms whose time has come.鈥�

In the days since its veto of the Security Council resolution, Russia has been in 鈥渇ull damage-control mode鈥� amid an onslaught of international criticism, 海角大神 reports. Russian analysts defend Moscow's opposition, by saying the Western-backed resolution lacked a strategy for the 鈥渟tate collapse and social catastrophe鈥� that is likely to follow if Assad is overthrown.

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said that Russia and China have lost 鈥渄iplomatic credit"聽in the Arab world in the wake of their veto and said their vote implied to Mr. Assad that he had free rein for his crackdown on government opposition, Reuters reports.

Harvard professor Stephen Walt, writing in Foreign Policy, argues that last year's "triumph" in Libya 鈥� the UN Security Council's authorization of international intervention in order to protect civilians, which quickly became a tool for regime change 鈥� is now a major obstacle to international actions against Syria.

Moscow may have been motivated in part by a desire to shore up the Assad regime because of the billions of dollars of arms contracts between the two countries. But Reuters reports that many analysts say the veto was 鈥渄riven less by love for Assad or hope of a return to Syria鈥檚 pre-conflict status quo than by Prime Minister Putin鈥檚 desire to show 鈥� that he will deft Western efforts to impose political change on sovereign states in regions of big power competition.鈥�

Russia may be merely seeking a 鈥渃ontrolled demolition鈥� of the Assad regime, without Western intervention, rather than a desire to prop up the current government, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government鈥檚 onslaught has barreled on, emboldened by Russia and China鈥檚 defense. The BBC reports that the Syrian Army has been 鈥減ounding鈥� Homs, one of a few rebel strongholds throughout the country. Residents worry that the artillery being fired on the city from its outskirts will soon turn into a ground assault, led by army tanks.

Activists told the BBC that at least 95 people were killed in Homs on Monday alone.

Turkey said it will launch an international effort of its own against Assad, BBC reports.

China, the other country that vetoed the UN resolution and thus also a target of international criticism, said it may send an envoy to Damascus.