Cameron Urges Russia, China to Back Further UN Measures on Syria

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron urged Russia and China to back further United Nations measures to “tighten the noose” around President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

Assad is deliberately flouting the peace plan drafted by Kofi Annan, the UN special envoy to Syria, Cameron told BBC Radio 5 as he travelled to Malaysia on the third day of a visit to Asia. Cameron said he feels an immense sense of frustration because the world came together behind the Annan plan, including countries such as China and Russia.

“Now is the time to say to the Russians and the Chinese, look at the man we are dealing with, look at the appalling way he is behaving,” Cameron said. “We need to go back to the UN and tighten the pressure, tighten the noose.”

Syria is facing the prospect of stronger action by the Security Council after it failed to comply with an April 10 UN cease-fire deadline. Russia has wielded its veto power on the Council, the UN’s decision-making body, to protect Syria from efforts by Western nations and their Arab allies to consider sanctions against Assad’s regime and call on him to step aside.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gonzalo Vina in Jakarta at gvina@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net