Russia presented a hard line to the West over the twin Middle East crises on Friday by slamming a proposed oil embargo on Iran and rebuffing any stronger action against Syria.
A top foreign ministry official called both sets of proposed measures a flagrant attempt to impose “regime change” in nations that in recent history have had poor relations with Europe and the United States.
The comments threatened to deepen the Kremlin’s diplomatic isolation in advance of an expected return to the presidency by Vladimir Putin — an ex-KGB agent who often infuriated the West while head of state between 2000 and 2008.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said the proposed oil embargo on Iran over its nuclear programme “will unquestionably be perceived by the international community as an attempt at changing the regime in Iran.”
His comments came as European governments moved closer to an agreement that would give energy companies six months to phase out their contracts with Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also pressed the issue this week with the leaders of China and won a promise from Japan for the world’s third-biggest economy to cut back its Iranian oil purchases further.
Moscow has itself backed four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions against its close trading partner and this week expressed “regret and worry” at Tehran’s decision to begin uranium enrichment at a new nuclear plant.
But Russia has urged restraint in the current escalation and is still promoting a peace plan that would reward Iran for cooperating with foreign inspectors by gradually easing existing sanctions.
Gatilov argued that crippling punishment against Iran would only inflame conflict and hinted at Russia’s willingness to veto any such future attempts at the Security Council.
“This line of action undermines the international community’s efforts at resolving the Iranian nuclear problem,” he said.
Analysts noted that Russia’s line was becoming more intransigent as the date of Putin’s expected return to the Kremlin in March 4 elections approached.
“Russia is slowly turning into an enemy of the entire world,” said Viktor Kremenyuk of Moscow’s USA-Canada Institute.
“Analysts could once understand the real reasons behind particular Russian pronouncements,” said Kremenyuk. “But now this is not now always the case.”
The Iran and Syria crises — coming on the heels of a war in Libya that Russia grew to strongly oppose — have highlighted the trouble the West has been facing from Moscow despite a “reset” in relations announced nearly three years ago by Washington.
Gatilov also rebuffed the West’s proposed changes to a watered-down UN Security Council resolution on Syria proposed by Moscow last month.
The 10-month crisis has seen the Kremlin accuse the West of setting double standards by turning a blind eye on the violence being committed by opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
It wants Assad’s opponents condemned in equal measure and has also refused to halt military shipments to its Soviet-era ally — an issue picked for particular criticism from the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Unfortunately, the West’s approach radically differs from ours,” Gatilov said in reference to Syria on Friday.
“Judging by the contents of their proposed amendments, their goal is clearly aimed at removing Assad’s regime in Damascus,” he said.
Gatilov added that Russia fully trusted the much-criticised mission being undertaken by Arab League monitors.
“We feel their presence is a stabilising factor in Syria that promotes the chances of a peaceful settlement,” the diplomat said.
