UN Security Council Schedules Syrian Observers Vote For Saturday
By Ria Novosti
The UN Security Council will vote on a draft resolution to send a group of unarmed observers to Syria, the U.S. envoy to the UN said.
Susan Rice, who is also this month’s Security Council president, said the vote will take place at 19:00 Moscow time [15:00 GMT] on Saturday.
She said it would be wise “not to make predictions” about the outcome of the vote as “Russia’s vote remains uncertain.”
The revised draft resolution was submitted by Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Portugal, Colombia and Morocco.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Friday “the urgent sending of UN observers to Syria is vital for the ceasefire in Syria.”
However, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters the text was more complicated than he expected and could require prolonged discussions while Moscow wanted to act quickly to authorize an advance team of up to 30 unarmed military observers to enter Syria.
The observer mission is part of a six-point plan to resolve the current political crisis in Syria, proposed by UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and approved by the UN Security Council.
The plan includes a pullback of troops from the cities, a halt to fighting, the release of unjustly arrested people, and respect for the people’s right to peaceful protest and for press freedom.
Some 9,000 people have been killed in clashes between the government and the opposition in Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, according to UN estimates.
