Russia opposes any United Nations Security Council resolution that would permit military strikes against the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a senior diplomat said today.
"Russia opposes any resolution of the UN Security Council indicating the probability of the use of force, (or) any resolution that could be used for military action against Syria," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Britain yesterday attempted to win UN backing for military intervention over the Syrian regime's suspected use of chemical weapons, but a meeting of the five permanent Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- ended with no apparent breakthrough.