By REUTERS
AMMAN - Russia has rejected Western calls for wider sanctions on Syria over its violent crackdown on protests against President Bashar Assad, in which the United Nations said 2,600 people have been killed.A day after France described the lack of a firm UN stance against Damascus as a scandal, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday recent US and European sanctions on Syria meant "additional pressure now is absolutely not needed in this direction."Russia, which has a naval base in Syria and major oil and gas concessions, and China - both veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council - have resisted efforts by Washington and its European allies to toughen the international response to Syria's repression of nearly six months of protests.
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