Darkness.
September 6th, 2013, 07:12 AM
http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=903765
World leaders at the G20 summit have failed to bridge their bitter divisions over US plans for military action against the Syrian regime, as Washington slammed Moscow for holding the UN Security Council 'hostage' over the crisis.
Despite not being on the original agenda of the summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin outside St Petersburg, the leaders discussed the Syria crisis into the early hours of the morning over dinner amid the splendour of a former imperial palace.
Putin has emerged as one of the most implacable critics of military intervention against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over an alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21, saying any such move without UN blessing would be an aggression.
There was no breakthrough at the dinner as leaders, including US President Barack Obama, presented their positions on the Syria crisis which only confirmed the extent of global divisions on the issue, participants said.
'The differences of opinions of the leaders were confirmed during the dinner,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
'Some states were defending the view that rushed measures should be taken, overlooking legitimate international institutions. Other states appealed not to devalue international law and not to forget that only the UN Security Council has the right to decide on using force,' he added on Friday.
World leaders at the G20 summit have failed to bridge their bitter divisions over US plans for military action against the Syrian regime, as Washington slammed Moscow for holding the UN Security Council 'hostage' over the crisis.
Despite not being on the original agenda of the summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin outside St Petersburg, the leaders discussed the Syria crisis into the early hours of the morning over dinner amid the splendour of a former imperial palace.
Putin has emerged as one of the most implacable critics of military intervention against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over an alleged chemical weapons attack on August 21, saying any such move without UN blessing would be an aggression.
There was no breakthrough at the dinner as leaders, including US President Barack Obama, presented their positions on the Syria crisis which only confirmed the extent of global divisions on the issue, participants said.
'The differences of opinions of the leaders were confirmed during the dinner,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
'Some states were defending the view that rushed measures should be taken, overlooking legitimate international institutions. Other states appealed not to devalue international law and not to forget that only the UN Security Council has the right to decide on using force,' he added on Friday.