Russia voices willingness to 'engage' on Syria draft
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Xinhua, January 28, 2012
Russia said on Friday that it is ready to "engage" on the Syria draft, presented to the 15- nation council at a closed meeting.
Vitaly Churkin, Russian permanent representative to the United Nations, made the statement at the end of the closed-door meeting, which lasted about two hours on Friday afternoon, as he was speaking to reporters outside the council chamber.
Churkin, speaking at the closed-door meeting, said that he was "deeply disappointed" with the draft which endorsed an Arab League plan on for Syria, diplomats said.
But the ambassador of Russia, a veto-welding permanent council member, did not say he would veto the draft.
Morocco, the only Arab country on the Security Council, presented the draft resolution to the council at the closed meeting, which kicked off at around 15:10 p.m. EDT here on Friday at a time when Russia reportedly said that the draft is unacceptable because it does not take Moscow's position into account.
The draft was jointly drawn up by Arab states with Britain, France and Germany.
Britain and France are the two of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Morocco and Germany are among the 10 non- permanent members of the UN body.
French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud, who spoke to reporters after the council meeting, said that during the closed meeting, " objections were raised. There are three or four main objections."
Araud said that objections were about arms embargo and sanctions.
He said that the council will meet again next week on the draft. "I do hope that we can agree on a resolution at the end of next week," he said.
Earlier on Friday, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said in Moscow that the draft, which is circulated in the Security Council on Friday afternoon here, contains "no fundamental consideration for our position" and is missing "key aspects that are fundamental to us," reports said.
Also on Friday, UN Secretary-Geneal Ban Ki-moon, who is in Davos, Switzerland, called on the Security Council to speak with one voice on Syria, and urged Damascus to listen to the aspirations of its people.
On Monday, Syria rejected a proposal by Arab League foreign ministers that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria hand over power to a deputy and set up new unity government, saying that the plan was part of a "conspiracy against Syria."
The secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi and Quatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani are to head to New York on Saturday to seek support for an Arab plan on Syria, reports said.
Syria insisted that the turmoil in the country is plotted by terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs. The Syrian government said that more than 2,000 army and security personnel were killed during the unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,000.
Syria was plunged into turmoil in Mid-March last year when anti- government protests broke out. Damascus signed the Arab League observer protocol on Dec. 19, 2011 in Cairo after the Arab League threatened to take the issue to the Security Council.
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