MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - Moscow categorically opposes the linkage between the extension of the United Nations monitoring mission in Syria and threats to apply Chapter 7 and sanctions against Syria.
"[Russia's Western partners] have presented their draft resolution which directly links the extension of the UN mission with the need to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and impose sanctions in the event the Syrian government fails to comply with certain conditions," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.
"Overall, their draft is imbalanced and requires only the Syrian government to fulfill its obligations, while saying practically nothing of the same obligations on the part of the opposition," Gatilov said.
"We therefore believe that this draft is not consistent with the spirit and letter of the Geneva communique, nor with the content of Kofi Annan's peace plan, and is unacceptable for us," he said.
At the same time, "we shall be trying to reach a constructive text of a possible draft resolution, which would reflect the actual state of affairs," the Russia deputy foreign minister said.