Syrian FM to address UNGA, unlikely to be well received

PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallem is expected Monday, Oct 1, to defend his country's handling of the 18-month civil war before the United Nations General Assembly, CNN reports.

Syria has dominated much of the U.N. General Assembly discussion - on stage and on the sidelines - as world leaders struggle to find a way to resolve the war that has left the Security Council hopelessly deadlocked.

Moallem is heading up the Syrian delegation at the United Nations where he has been meeting with foreign ministers to drum up support for President Bashar al-Assad's government.

But Moallem's anticipated defense of the conflict before the general assembly is unlikely to be well received.

"What has the international community done to stop this carnage?" Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last week. "Literally nothing. We have yet to see a single effective action to save innocent lives."

Germany also slammed the U.N. Security Council for failure to act, and the United States, Britain and France announced they were backing increased support of non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition.