Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a direct personal appeal to the American people over the Syrian crisis.
In an opinion article in the New York Times, he warns that a US military strike against Syria could unleash a new wave of terrorism.He says millions of people see the US not as a model of democracy but as relying on brute force.
The US and Russia are due to hold talks in Geneva later over Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.
Moscow, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has proposed putting the weapons under international control before destroying them.
Analysis
But nothing compared with what happened at Halabja. In March 1988, Iraq's President Saddam Hussein ordered a Kurdish town in northern Iraq to be drenched with mustard gas and nerve gas, killing over 5,000 people almost immediately.
Kamaran Haider was 11 at the time. When the bombardment began, he, his family and others rushed to their shelter. He told me that at first it was conventional bombs that fell. Then they smelt a strange odour of fruit and garlic and they knew at once what had happened.
Damascus has agreed, at least
partially, to the the proposal, and US President Barack Obama to put
military action against Syria on hold.
The US blames the Syrian government for a chemical weapons
attack near Damascus last month that killed hundreds. Syria blames the
attack on rebels.As the diplomatic efforts continue, the Syrian army has been trying to retake the Christian town of Maaloula which was overrun by rebel forces - including members of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front - at the weekend.
The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, who visited Maaloula on Wednesday, says fighting has been continuing despite earlier reports that government forces had retaken the town.
'Escalation' warning In the New York Times article, Mr Putin says recent events "have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders".
He warned that the UN could suffer the same fate as its precursor, the League of Nations, if "influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorisation".
"The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the Pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria's borders," he says.
Chemical weapons plan timeline
5-6 Sep: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama discuss idea of placing Syria's chemical weapons under international control on sidelines of G20 summit9 Sep: Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says he has urged Syria to hand in chemical weapons and have them destroyed; Syria welcomes plan
10 Sep: Syria's foreign minister makes first public admission of the regime's chemical weapons stockpile; commits Syria committed to Russian plan. Barack Obama postpones Congress vote on military action and says he will give Russian plan a chance
12 Sep: John Kerry due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva
"A strike would increase violence
and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral
efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilise the Middle East and
North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and
order out of balance."
Mr Putin said Russia was not protecting the Syrian government "but international law".He reiterated Russia's opinion that the gas attack of 21 August was probably carried out by opposition forces "to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons".
"Reports that militants are preparing another attack - this time against Israel - cannot be ignored," he adds.
"It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America's long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force."
The article comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva to discuss Moscow's proposal. It is not clear how long the talks will last.
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Maaloula is one of the earliest centres of Christianity in the world.
On Wednesday, envoys of the five permanent UN Security Council members met in New York to discuss the plan.
A UN diplomat quoted by AFP news agency said those present at
the 45-minute meeting set out their positions "but there were no real
negotiations".Syria's chemical weapons
- CIA believes Syria's chemical weapons can be "delivered by aircraft, ballistic missile, and artillery rockets"
- Syria believed to possess mustard gas and sarin, and also tried to develop more toxic nerve agents such as VX gas
- Syria has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)
One diplomat told the BBC that
the UN envoys' talks were largely symbolic and that the serious
questions would be left for Geneva.
Republican Senator John McCain, who has long argued for US
intervention in Syria, said he was sceptical about Thursday's meeting."Frankly I'm puzzled why John Kerry has to go to Geneva to negotiate with Lavrov," he said.
"Why doesn't Lavrov come to the UN and everybody agree on a resolution and pass it? It's got to be a resolution through the Security Council."
Diplomats predict that talks at the UN Security Council will continue for several days after the Geneva meeting before any resolution can be put to a vote.
France has already been working on a draft resolution that would be enforced by Chapter VII of the UN charter, which would in effect sanction the use of force if Syria failed in its obligations.
However, Russia has already indicated that this would be unacceptable, as would any resolution blaming the Syrian government for chemical attacks.
The 15-member UN Security Council has been deadlocked for months over Syria.
It is facing mounting criticism over what UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called its "embarrassing paralysis" over the conflict.
More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in 2011.
Russia, supported by China, has blocked three draft resolutions condemning the Assad government.
On Wednesday, the US state department confirmed that Mr Kerry would also meet UN-Arab League special envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Geneva.
A team of US arms experts is accompanying Mr Kerry.
source: BBC
