Perceived imminent Western military action in Syria is not only illegal but also could lead to possible "catastrophic" intervention into the affairs of a sovereign state and destabilize the region as a whole, Russian leaders warn.
Moscow has indicated it would not interfere with Western military action against Syria, but it has stressed Western nations are making a mad dash before all is known about the alleged nerve gas attack in a Damascus suburb that has reportedly killed more than 1,000 people, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
The Russians are also stressing that the expected imminent attack without United Nations imprimatur is charging into dangerous territory.
"Attempts to bypass the Security Council, to once again create artificial, unproven excuses for an armed intervention in the region, are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement posted on the ministry's website Tuesday.
Lukashevich also pointed to the cancellation of a scheduled meeting between Russian and U.S. officials on how to resolve the Syrian crisis as a sign that an attack is imminent, the Monitor reports.
"Moscow perceives Washington’s decision to postpone this meeting literally on the eve of the agreed-upon date with serious disappointment," he said.
Georgy Mirsky, an expert with the Center for Development and Modernization with the official Institute of World Economy and International Relations, said, "There's nothing Russia can or should do to stop Western military intervention in Syria."
"Syria isn't Libya. Battles are going on everywhere, and it will prove impossible to set up a secure zone. There is zero chance that Western forces will launch a ground war. So, it will be limited cruise missile attacks from ships; that might weaken [President Bashar Assad], but will not likely be decisive," he said.
"Russia can sit and watch. A propaganda war will rage, and Moscow will be able to say that we wanted peace, we were working for the Geneva-2 conference, but it didn't happen because they opted for military force instead," Mirsky said.
"As things stand, developments will play into Moscow's hands. The U.S. will compromise itself with another war in another Arab country, and look more than ever like a neo-colonialist power. Why would Obama want this?"