Clinton Pushes Tougher Syria Policy; Russia and China Shove Back

September 20, 2012 from Voice of America

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads next week to the United Nations General Assembly, trying to rally international support for tougher action against embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. VOA State Department correspondent Scott Stearns reports Clinton continues to face stiff opposition from China and Russia.

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Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician and diplomat who was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, serving under President Barack Obama. She was previously a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of President Bi... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

UN General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Co... Explore this topic

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Russia

Russia or, also officially known as the Russian Federation, is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania an... Explore this topic

Yang Jiechi

Yang Jiechi is a high-ranking Chinese politician and lifelong professional diplomat. He was the tenth Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, between 2007 and 2013. He joined the inner circle of the State Council in 2013, as a State Councilor under Premier Li Keqia... Explore this topic

Sergei Lavrov

Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat who has been the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. His nomination to the Foreign Minister's office was approved by two Russian presidents, in 2008 by Dmitry Medvedev and in 2012 by Vladimir Putin. Prior to that, Lavrov was a... Explore this topic

US Department of State

The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries. The Department was created... Explore this topic

UN Security Council veto

The United Nations Security Council "power of veto" refers to the veto power wielded solely by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, enabling them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of int... Explore this topic

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Syrian Civil War

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