Russia May Sell Syria Advanced Weapons as NATO Prepares to Attack

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Russia and China vetoed a United Nations resolution on Syria because they feared NATO would use the move as an excuse to bomb the Middle Eastern country.

Russia plans to sell its advanced Iskander ballistic missiles to help Syria ward off a NATO attack.Moscow said it opposes any resolution against Syria because of the way the United States, Britain, and France interpreted the resolution against Libya and used it as an excuse to invade the country and depose its leader Gaddafi under the cover of protecting civilians.

NATO exploited language in the resolution that authorized U.N. members to take “all necessary measures … to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack” while excluding any “foreign occupation force” in Libyan territory.

Russia, China, India, South Africa and Brazil argue that the Libya resolution did not justify months of air strikes against Gaddafi’s regime that killed at least 6,000 civilians. They believe a new resolution might be used in the same way to attack Syria and depose al-Assad.