Russia rejects 'one-sided' UN draft resolution on Syria

Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday described the UN Security Council's draft resolution on Syria as "counterproductive" and the ideas proposed by Western partners as "absolutely one-sided and detached from reality." Sergei Lavrov told a news briefing that the proposals on aid access -- presented by Australia, Luxemboug and Jordan -- ignored the efforts made to deliver humanitarian aid to Syria and blamed the Syrian government for the situation, saying it was the armed rebels hampering supplies. The Geneva II conference resumed Tuesday for a second round of talks after a 10-day break. The top Russian diplomat urged the participants of the talks to focus on countering the threat of terrorism, stopping uncontrolled arms smuggling and lifting blockades of Syrian towns for the delivery of humanitarian supplies. "Let's take a principal position on the growing terrorists threat and come down to that problem systematically," Lavrov said, describing that aspect of the crisis as "terrible." Lavrov also slammed the West for turning a blind eye to terrorist activities in Syria and favoring a "simplistic decision" in drafting another Security Council resolution. He said the West was trying to use the Syrian humanitarian issue in the same way as the chemical weapons issue -- to undermine a political process and return to a military scenario. "This is absolutely counterproductive," he said.