Obama UN Ambassador Samantha Power is following closely in Susan Rice's ignominious footsteps. She told Americans today, that "the US and Russia have agreed to support a Security Council resolution...We also agreed, as you know, that in the event of Syria's non-compliance, unauthorized transfer or chemical weapons use by anyone, that we will impose measures under Chapter VII." [Chapter VII are the provisions of the UN Charter allowing the use of force as an enforcement tool.]
But Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov
said today that his country has agreed to no such thing. Reuters reports: "In Moscow, Lavrov said any rush to draw up a resolution threatening to punish Syria in the event of non-compliance showed a "lack of understanding" of the deal."
Power, however, did not let the facts get in her way. She told reporters: "we are determined to have an enforceable and binding resolution that obliges the Syrians to comply and beyond also to underscore how important the threat of force has been to bringing us to this moment, a rare moment of promise, at the Security Council, after two and a half years of deadlock and paralysis."
Actually, the deadlock and paralysis at the Security Council continue. Unless, of course, the White House agrees to whatever Russia demands.