Envoys: Russia may not veto UN council draft on Syria

[Chris]

Envoys: Russia may not veto UN council draft... JPost - Headlines

Envoys: Russia may not veto UN council draft on Syria
By REUTERS 02/03/2012 16:39

UNITED NATIONS - Moscow may agree not to veto the latest version of a European-Arab draft resolution endorsing an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up power when the UN Security Council votes on it, envoys said on Friday. "I think Moscow will be OK with it," a council diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We're not 100 percent sure but I think they've gotten the assurances they wanted." Morocco circulated an amended draft resolution to the 15-nation council on Thursday after Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told a closed-door session of the 15-nation body Moscow would veto the draft if it were put to a vote on Friday with a phrase saying the council "fully supports" an Arab League plan calling for Syria's president to step aside, diplomats said. That phrase remains in the text. But several diplomats said Churkin's threat of a veto had more to do with the timing than the substance of the resolution and predicted that the Russians likely would abstain or vote for the resolution.

[Chris]

Russia refuses to support UN draft resolution against Syria
Deputy Foreign Minister quoted as saying Russia cannot back resolution calling for 'Syrian-led political transition.'
By Reuters

Russia cannot support a European-Arab draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria despite changes that took some of its concerns into account, the Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying on Friday. Gatilov did not specify whether Russia would veto the resolution, which supports an Arab League plan that calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to cede power, or abstain if it comes to a vote in the Security Council in its current form.

"We have received the text. Some of our concerns and the concerns of those with like minds have been taken into account in it, but nonetheless, this is not enough for us to be able to support it in this form," he was quoted as saying. Western and Arab nations that have pushed for Assad to give up power after an 11-month government crackdown that the United Nations says has led to more than 5,000 deaths are struggling to overcome Russian resistance to Security Council action.

more...................Russia refuses to support UN draft resolution against Syria - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News