"Russian diplomats do not cancel previously scheduled meetings" to babble about Syria!

MOSCOW - Even before Morocco (Muslim Brotherhood + Monarch) officially proposed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, it was clear that Russia, which has veto power in the Security Council, would stand in the way.
Moscow had already expressed its disagreement with language in the resolution that places the blame for recent violence squarely on al-Assad’s shoulders, and calls for his removal from power. Moscow is also worried that if the resolution against Syria, a major Russian ally, is adopted by the Security Council, the West will see it as a green light for international forces to intervene, just as happened last year in Libya. Russia had compromised with the West on Libya by agreeing to abstain from the vote on Libya, but it was not happy about the NATO bombing that followed.
Things are likely to be different with Syria. The Kremlin is not about to give in to pressure from the West, particularly in light of upcoming presidential elections.
The West pulled out the heavy hitters for Tuesday's Security Council meeting. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé and British Foreign Minister William Hague all converged in New York. The Arab League’s General Secretary Nabil El-Araby represented the Arab point of view. But Moscow made its point clearly by not sending someone of the same level to take part in the discussions: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued his tour of Asia and Oceania uninterrupted, rather than veering off to New York.
... Washington did not hide its annoyance that Clinton was not able to reach Lavrov and to discuss the upcoming vote with him. According to State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, Clinton's "phone was ringing constantly,” for discussions with colleagues from various different countries, but the Russian Foreign Secretary remained unreachable. “The Secretary, frankly, has been trying to get Foreign Minister Lavrov on the phone for about 24 hours,” Nuland said, noting that Clinton had no trouble speaking with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov was informed of Clinton’s wish to speak with him, but the timing conflicted with his meetings with Australian officials. “Russian diplomats do not cancel previously scheduled meetings,” Lavrov explained, adding that he was ready to speak with Secretary of State Clinton “at the slightest opportunity.”
Regardless, the chances that the two diplomats can find common ground on the Syrian problem is essentially zero. From Australia, Lavrov commented on the Syrian opposition’s refusal to negotiate with the al-Assad government, talks that Russia had offered to organize. “If the opposition refuses to sit at the same negotiating table with the regime, then what are the alternatives? To bomb them? We have already been there, and the Security Council will not ever give its blessing to a bombing campaign - I guarantee it.”

... at least six concrete reasons why Russia is not likely to give in.

1.  Syria is one of Russia’s most important allies in the Arab world. If Moscow abandons Damascus in this critical moment, then the message it will be sending to allies around the world is that one cannot rely on the Kremlin.
2.  Damascus is one of Moscow’s most important trading partners, particularly in military technology. The military contracts that were signed in the past years were worth about $4 billion. In 2010 alone, Syria acquired about $700 million worth of Russian arms. Moscow recently approved the sale of 36 military planes to Damascus - for a sum of $550 million. The total Russian investment in the Syrian economy is around $20 million. One of the largest projects is a gas processing plant managed by a Russian company...
3.  Russia’s only military base located outside of the former Soviet Union is in the Syrian port city of Tartus. ...
4.  Russia is wary of the uncompromising Syrian opposition. Its leaders are oriented towards the Persian Gulf monarchs, towards Turkey and towards the West, but not in the least towards Moscow. In addition, among Bashar al Assad’s opponents, Islamists have a relatively strong position, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. If they come to power in Syria, which is home to a relatively large number of Christians and Shiites, there is a real risk that the country will be splintered based on religion.
5.  The Russian leadership clearly doesn’t believe the West’s promises that the resolution on Syria is not a steps towards a military intervention...
6.  As important as international relations are, Russian internal politics also plays a major role in this affair. A month before the presidential elections, Vladimir Putin does not want to appear weak to either voters or his opponents ..."