Clinton Warns Russia its Syria Policy Risks Civil War

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday criticized Russia's resistance to U.N. action on Syria, warning that its policy could contribute to a civil war.

The Russians "are telling me they don't want to see a civil war. I have been telling them their policy is going help to contribute to a civil war," she told a mainly student audience on a visit to Copenhagen.

Clinton warned that unless unchecked, the deadly violence in Syria could lead to civil war or even morph into a proxy war because of Iran's support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

She said she had spoken on Wednesday with the international envoy on Syria, Kofi Annan, who is trying to expand his mandate to be able to deal more effectively with the regime of President Bashar Assad.

"We have to bring the Russians on board because the dangers we face are terrible," said Clinton, who is in Denmark on the first leg of a Scandinavian tour.

She said the absence of U.N. support for action in Syria due mainly to Russia's opposition "makes it harder" to respond to the crisis, as the international community did last year in Libya.

"The continued slaughter of innocent people, both by the military and by militias supported by the government and increasingly by the opposition... could morph into a civil war in a country that would be riven by sectarian divides, which then could morph into a proxy war in the region.

"Remember you have Iran deeply embedded in Syria -- their military are coaching the Syrian military. The Quds Force, which is a branch of the military, is helping them set up these sectarian militias.

"We know it actually could get much worse than it is," she said.