US refusal to condemn Damascus terror act frustrating – Lavrov

   Russia,China Eye-To-Eye On Crisis In Syria

MOSCOW,(ST)-Moscow is frustrated with Washington’s refusal to support a UN Security Council resolution condemning a terrorist attack staged in Damascus on Thursday.

“It leaves us frustrated because until recently all members of the [UN] Security Council with no exception were always committed to resolutely condemning any terrorist attacks, irrespective of who staged these terrorist attacks, where and his motives,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi,according to Voice of Russia.

Russia and China said on Friday they saw eye-to-eye on all the world’s problems including the crisis in Syria, as the Chinese foreign minister was in Moscow to prepare a visit by new leader Xi Jinping later this year.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi confirmed after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Communist Party chief and president–in-waiting Xi would visit Russia after he is confirmed as head of state in March to succeed Hu Jintao.

Russia and China have stood shoulder-to-shoulder throughout the two-year crisis  in Syria

“Russia and China have united positions, and promote these united positions in negotiations, on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, including the crisis in Syrian, Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear programme and other crises,” Lavrov said at a news conference alongside Yang.

“On all these cases, we and our Chinese friends are led by one and the same principle – the necessity to observe international law, respect UN procedures and not allow interference from outside in domestic conflicts and all the more the use of force,” added Lavrov.

Yang, who held a closed-door meeting with Putin the day earlier, said that the two countries’ bilateral relations were of huge importance for the world as a whole.

“We believe together that Russia-China relations do not just have major importance for our countries but have an influence on ensuring peace and development on the planet as a whole.”

The 2013 BRICS summit will bring together the leaders of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa for the first time on the African continent, a region where Beijing’s influence has greatly increased over the last years.

R.Sawas