By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, January 24 -- As countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar met with experts from some Security Council members about Syria Tuesday afternoon, inside the Council suite of rooms the Permanent Representatives of China, Russia, India and Brazil held a counter-meeting.
Afterward Inner City Press asked India's ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri about the meeting. He told Inner City Press, "If you talk of things like political process, inclusion, trying to solve the problem, that part is OK.
"But you can't write what you think should be the outcome should be as the starting point here, 'we'll have a political process but you must first step down.' The Security Council is not meant to rubber stamp, you can't say 'you step aside and then we'll see.'"
Inner City Press asked Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin if BRICS had come up with a game plan. "We have a winning plan," he said with a broad smile. Some wonder, winning for whom? But the same was asked about Libya.
Other sources opined to Inner City Press that "the problem BRICS have is if they adopt the Arab League, it's toward sanctions," and noted "the Arab League is split," pointing at Egypt's Middle East speech, in name of the Non Aligned Movement (in which for example North Korea joined.)
Earlier, Hardeep Singh Puri said that a problem with the draft that got vetoed on October 3 was the reference to "Article 41, breaking diplomatic relations." He said, "we see these things, you have to read closely." Yes, you do.
Meanwhile inside the Security Council chamber, the main topic of Tuesday's daylong debate was Palestine. Inner City Press asked Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour about the US Republican Party debates. He replied, of Newt Gingrich, "he says we don't exist? There are pictures of him with... Arafat." And Inner City Press quickly found and tweeted one, here.
At the stakeout, Inner City Press asked Israel's Permanent Representative Prosor about Mansour's statement that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would travel to Ramallah in connection with his trip to the African Union. Prosor said he'd leave it up to Ban's office to answer, but that it would be a useful trip, referring to rocket shot into Israel from Gaza. We'll see.
Beyond the Palestine issue many speakers addressed Syria. Leaving the Council chamber late in the afternoon accompanied by Sri Lankan ambassador Palitha Kohona, Syrian Permanent Representative Bashar Ja'afari told Inner City Press he would be back for "right to reply."
A Council expert later told Inner City Press that "in the Security Council there is no right to reply."
