Almost a month after the introduction of the European draft resolution on the violence in Syria, the Security Council agreed on issuing a Presidential Statement on the matter, in a tone considerably lighter than the original resolution and without much traction trying to enforce the measures that are described on it. The text of the Presidential Statement adopts a language that tries to promote an even-handed approach, aiming at protecting both the Syrian State Institutions and the protesters that are trying to reform the state. The result is a statement with very little teeth that tries to bite both sides of the apple without compromising any of the parts of the conflict. Another worrying element is that the representative of the Arab Community in the Council, Lebanon, removed itself from the statement eroding part of the legitimacy of the text.
