The foreign ministers of Germany and Russia together welcomed the United Nations Security Council declaration on the Syrian crisis on Wednesday. "There are no ultimatums, no threats," underlined Sergey Lavrov at his joint press conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Berlin.

To the Russians, it was important that the non-binding declaration - known as a presidential statement - did not put the blame on any particular party. "The end of violence will give the Syrian people access to humanitarian aid and create the conditions for the start of political dialog between the government and all the Syrian opposition groups," said Lavrov.

Westerwelle was reading from the same script. "We have agreed that everything must be done to end the horrific violence and guarantee access for humanitarian aid organizations," he said. Westerwelle contended that in situations as difficult as this, it's always about finding a balance between what is necessary and what is possible, and that the Security Council had sent an "unambiguous signal" to Bashar al-Assad, that he should put an "end to the bloodshed."

Security Council agrees

After seven months of silence, while thousands were killed in Syria, the UN Security Council finally agreed on the statement. Its 15 members, including Germany, unanimously signed off on the declaration, which contains a warning of "further steps" against the Syrian leadership, should it not comply with the peace plan drawn up by special envoy Kofi Annan.

The plan also calls for a ceasefire and the start of a political dialog between the government and the opposition. Furthermore, aid organizations are to be given unlimited access to the injured and needy in the country.

Several times Russia and China, both with veto powers, blocked resolutions that contained any kind of condemnation of the Syrian government. In the end, Russia, one of Syria's few remaining allies, did acknowledge criticism of the actions of President Assad against the protest movement.

Syria is not only an important buyer of Russian weapons, but also offers Russia access to the Mediterranean via a naval base in Tartus on the Syrian coast. Consequently, the formulation Moscow has finally accepted is the weakest that the Security Council can put forward, with the exception of a simple press release.

Differences remain

During a press conference in Berlin, Westerwelle admitted that there were still differences with Russia over the situation in Syria and the causes of the conflict there. "But what is important is that we're doing what's possible to help the people," he said.

Westerwelle has been banking on winning compromises from Russia for some time. Speaking in New York in mid-March, he said that he had encountered much incomprehension at Russian policy during his travels in the Middle East. "I think that Russia won't want to stand on the wrong side of history forever," he said at the time.

A reporter reminded Lavrov of Westerwelle's statement in Berlin on Wednesday. "With all due respect and friendship to Guido Westerwelle, I have to point out that he doesn't write history," was the Russian minister's reply. "We have done without ultimatums and threats – and without attempts to solve the problem with demands on the government."

Lavrov called the Security Council presidential statement a "present" for his birthday, which he spent in Berlin with Westerwelle and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski. They had met as part of a regular "trialog" between the three countries. The first of these meetings took place in May last year in Kaliningrad – a city, now in a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast, that used to be the German Königsberg.

Author: Nikita Jolkver / Markian Ostaptschuk / bk
Editor: Gregg Benzow