Clinton’s tough rhetoric shows deepening international divide over crisis in Syria

July 6, 2012 – SYRIA – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lambasted Russia and China on Friday for blocking efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose much-reviled regime has endured a serious crack in its armor — the defection of a key member of its inner circle. Speaking at the Friends of Syria conference in Paris, Clinton called on Russia and China to “get off the sidelines” and accused them of “standing up for” al-Assad’s regime. She urged the other 60 or so nations represented at the summit to “make it clear that Russia and China will pay a price” for that support. “I ask you to reach out to Russia and China and not only ask but demand that they get off the sidelines,” she said. “I don’t think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all, nothing at all, for standing with (the) Assad regime.” But it was unclear whether those two nations will reverse their longstanding opposition to forcing al-Assad from power. The two trade partners of Syria have vetoed previous efforts by the U.N. Security Council to condemn the violence in Syria and oust al-Assad. Neither Russia nor China was represented at the Paris meeting. Western and Arab nations started the Friends of Syria initiative because both countries posed diplomatic obstacles in tackling the Syrian crisis. The United States and others hope this meeting of the group could lead to stricter economic sanctions and more support for the opposition. Clinton’s tough comments came as a Western diplomat confirmed that Manaf Tlas, a general in Syria’s elite Republican Guards, abandoned the regime. Tlas, the son of a former Syrian defense minister, defected over the killing of Sunnis, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to speak to the media. “He’s an inside confidant of Assad. So it counts that even an insider thinks it’s time to go,” the official said. His father, a former defense minister, and the rest of his family are in Paris, the official said. It was not immediately known if Tlas was on his way to France. The defection is one more blow for al-Assad, who Clinton said has been feeling the bite of economic sanctions. The Syrian leader’s “currency and foreign reserves have collapsed,” she said, curbing his ability to continue his crackdown. But she said challenges remain. Al-Assad was being kept afloat by “money from Iran and assistance from Russia and the failure of countries here” at the conference to tighten economic sanctions. –CNN