U.N. Delays Syria Sanctions Vote at Annan's Request
The U.N. Security Council postponed a vote Wednesday on a Western-drafted resolution calling for sanctions against Syria following a request from international envoy Kofi Annan, diplomats said.
A threat by Russia, President Bashar Assad's key ally, to veto the resolution has sparked new Security Council tensions on Syria.
The vote on the resolution is now expected on Thursday, while the five permanent members of the council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and United States -- hold more negotiations on the Syria crisis, diplomats said.
"We will be voting tomorrow morning," said Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, whose country took the lead in drawing up the sanctions resolution.
Annan sent a message to the Security Council powers asking for the delay a few hours before the scheduled vote. The U.N.-Arab League envoy "feels it is still possible to get a compromise with Russia on the resolution," said one council diplomat.
Britain, backed by the United States, France, Germany and Portugal, has proposed non-military sanctions under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter if President Bashar al-Assad does not halt the use of heavy weapons within 10 days of a resolution being passed.
Despite the vote delay, there was no sign that Russia has withdrawn its veto threat. "We cannot accept Chapter VII and the section about sanctions," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow.
Russia and China, using their powers as permanent council members, have twice vetoed previous resolutions hinting at sanctions.
"We have very clearly said to our Russian and Chinese friends, we are ready to negotiate," said France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud.
"The framework is well-defined. It is a Chapter VII resolution with a threat of sanctions. We consider the situation is serious enough in Damascus and in Syria that we move towards this goal," he told reporters.
The mandate of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria, or UNSMIS, ends on Friday and without a resolution the U.N. may have to hurriedly withdraw the nearly 300 unarmed observers now in Damascus.
More than 17,000 people have been killed since a popular uprising against Assad began 16 months ago, activists say.
Source: Agence France Presse
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