UN crafts new draft on Syria resolution

UNITED NATIONS: UN diplomats said Thursday they had come up with a new draft resolution condemning a bloody crackdown on dissent in Syria that would now be sent back to their governments for deliberations.

The latest attempt at consensus emerged after hours of talks stalled in the United Nations Security Council, amid opposition spearheaded by Russia to a tough draft resolution authored by Western powers and the Arab League.

It was not immediately known how the latest draft resolution differed from previous versions, or what chances it had of approval and being sent back to the 15-member Council for a vote.

“Everyone will seek instructions from their capitals and we hope to be able to vote as soon as possible,” Britain's UN ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, said.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the decision to send a draft back to governments “does not prejudge in any way” whether or not approval is likely.

The US ambassador, Susan Rice, also played down expectations, saying: “We are still not there.” “There are still some complicated issues that our capitals will have to deliberate on and provide us with instructions,” she said.

The development came after negotiations had appeared to become bogged down.

Shortly before, a full Council meeting broke up, with diplomats saying they had been unable to overcome Russian concerns over how to respond to the Syrian government crackdown, in which observers say some 6,000 people have died.

The meeting was “not so good,” India's UN ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said.

AFP