Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow will stonewall any United Nations sanctions on Syria and will push for a quick start of dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia would block any attempts to get the U.N. approval for sanctions against Syria that have been imposed by other nations, saying that such a move would be "unfair and counterproductive."

The U.S., the European Union, the Arab League and Turkey all have introduced sanctions against Damascus in response to Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on an uprising that has left more than 5,400 people dead, according to the U.N. estimates.

The U.N. Security Council has been unable to agree on a resolution since the violence began in March because of a strong opposition from Russia and China.