Apr 28, 2011 06:28 Moscow Time Russia’s deputy UN envoy said on Wednesday that the situation in Syria posed no threat to international peace and warned against attempts to meddle in the country’s internal affairs. Alexander Pankin also said that some of the protesters in Syria and other countries were making no secret of their wish to exacerbate the situation and thus force the international community to wade in on their side. UN fails to agree on Syria statement Published: 28 April, 2011, 10:07 Edited: 28 April, 2011, 10:59 The UN Security Council has failed to agree on an EU-proposed statement to condemn Syria’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters. There was no consensus on Wednesday as Russia, China and Lebanon, the only Arab country in the council, did not support the statement. The talks are to continue on Thursday. Russia says events in Syria did not constitute a threat to international peace, saying the decision could only provoke more violence. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army has deployed more tanks and re-enforcements in the south. More than 450 people have been killed since the protests began over a month ago. And, while the UN is urging an investigation into the violence, Washington is pushing for sanctions. Meanwhile, Middle East experts say Syria cannot be dealt with like other Arab uprisings. James Denselow, a writer on Middle East politics and security, believes the situation in Syria is not ripe for any form of direct military intervention. The more interesting question, according to Densekow, is whether the country, which has withstood various degrees of US sanctions over the past decade, will be deterred by any further international sanctions. “People will be very conscious of the fact that Syria is not Libya, and the fact that if you do decide to intervene in Syria, you will have knock-on effects across the region – in
Rosneft eyes Nord Stream chief for its board-paper 10:29am IST * Warnig set to be appointed independent director * Seen as close to Putin * Follows Medvedev's shake up of corporate boards MOSCOW, April 28 (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil firm Rosneft may appoint to its board Matthias Warnig, the managing director of Nord Stream, Kommersant reported. Warnig, who is thought to be close to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, would become an independent director, sources at the government and the Energy Ministry told the business daily. The appointment, which would need to be approved at an extraordinary general meeting, follows a board shake-up at state-controlled companies after President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to remove ministers from such posts. Medvedev's order was seen by analysts as a move to emerge from Putin's shadow and strengthen his position ahead of the 2012 presidential election at which one of the two men is expected to take the top seat in the Kremlin. [ID:nLDE73107S] At Rosneft, the order meant the departure of Putin's deputy, Igor Sechin, Russia's energy tsar, as chairman. He is expected to be replaced by Sergei Shishin, a senior vice president of Russia's No. 2 bank, VTB . [ID:nLDE73107S] Warnig served in East Germany's Stasi roughly at the same time as Putin was working in the country for the KGB and is thought to be a close to the Russian premier. His work on Nord Stream gas pipeline project has earned him experience in international negotiations on energy issues. Rosneft, Warnig and Putin's spokesman declined to comment on the possibility of the appointment, Kommersant said. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Matt Driskill)