News Analysis: Kremlin Not Hardening Policy With Syria Veto

Russia supported new UN sanctions on Iran. It abstained from a vote on a Libya no-fly zone. And it firmly vetoed a Western-backed condemnation of the Syrian government's crackdown on protesters.

Moscow's decision to exercise its veto in the UN Security Council on Tuesday angered Washington and its allies and raised questions about whether the Kremlin was adopting a tougher foreign policy in the months before a presidential election expected to be won by hawkish Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

But analysts said Wednesday that Russia's seemingly hardening stance on UN resolutions targeting its allies — who incidentally are also major buyers of Russian weapons — mainly signaled a return to a well-established Kremlin line.   Continue

The Moscow Times

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