Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said on Thursday that there is "no viable path forward" in the Security Council regarding authorizing military strikes against the Bashar al-Assad's regime through a resolution, which could be agreed upon by the 5 most powerful nations, thanks in large part to Russia holding it "hostage," Reuters reported.
This announcement was compounded by the fact that a draft resolution Britain submitted to the Five Permanent council members was dead, in an effort to militarily respond to the Assad regime for a chemical attack on August 21.
"I was present in the meeting where the UK laid down the resolution, and everything in that meeting, in word and in body language, suggests that that resolution has no prospect of being adopted, by Russia in particular. Our considered view, after months of efforts on chemical weapons and after 2-1/2 years of efforts on Geneva (peace talks), the humanitarian situation, is that there is no viable path forward in this Security Council," Power told reporters at the U.N.
Thus far, Russia -Assad's main weapons supplier- has blocked council resolutions condemning Assad's government. China joined Russia in blocking the resolution, as the two nations have blamed the rebels, rather than Assad's government, for the August 21 chemical gas attack, which reportedly killed over 1400 civilians.
Analysts suggest that Washington will seek a broadened coalition, somewhat akin to NATO, in an effort to punish Assad. The Obama administration is still seeking congressional authorization from both the House of Representatives and the Senate in order to approve the use of military strikes.
President Obama is currently in St. Petersburg, Russia for the G20 Summit where tensions remain high between the two former Cold War foes.
Russian President Putin escalated concerns when he indicated in an interview published Wednesday that his country could send Syria and its neighbors in the region the components of a missile shield if the U.S. attacks, Foxnews.com reported.
U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified this week as part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Russians might even replace any military assets the U.S. destroys in a strike.
"Putin will live up to what he says," Fox News military analyst retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters added. "If we destroy Syrian military technology, Putin will replace it."
Power's statement to reporters comes a couple days after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced that he doubts the legality of U.S. plans to uniterally strike at Assad's forces.
"Our common humanity compels us to ensure that chemical weapons do not become a tool of war in the 21st century. Any perpetrators must be brought to justice. There should be no impunity. Bearing in mind the primary responsibility of the Security Council, I call for its members to unite and to develop an appropriate response, should the allegations of use prove to be true. The Security Council has a duty to move beyond the current stalemate and show leadership. This is a larger issue than the conflict in Syria; this is about our collective responsibility to humankind," Ban said.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council "has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote." The Permanent Five members, the U.S., France, China, Russia and England, have privileges to block resolutions.
The Syrian civil war has killed over 100,000 people in two years, according to UN estimates.
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