Russia will not support a European-drafted UN resolution on Syria, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, calling the draft "unacceptable" but not revealing whether Moscow would veto it.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax that Russia refused to back the text because it opened the door for punitive sanctions against Syria.
"We cannot support such a text," Gatilov said. "It is unacceptable because it includes the possibility of imposing sanctions against Syria."
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said a compromise reached late Monday on a resolution had now broken down, with Moscow vowing to deploy its veto.
The 15-nation UN Security Council was to vote later Tuesday on the resolution condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad's six-month-old crackdown on protesters demanding an end to his 11-year rule.
(Reuters)
