U.S. Wants 'Urgent' U.N. Action if Syria Doesn't Heed April 10 Deadline

The U.N. Security Council will have to take "very urgent and serious" action if Syria fails to meet an April 10 deadline to halt its military operations in protest cities, U.S. ambassador Susan Rice said Tuesday.

U.N. Security Council members negotiated a statement backing the April 10 deadline that U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan says Syria has accepted, as fierce clashes were reported between government forces and rebels.

Rice reaffirmed that the United States and other countries doubted that President Bashar Assad would end hostilities and called for increased pressure on the government.

"Let me say that from the U.S. point of view, and I think the point of view of many member states, what we have seen since April 1 is not encouraging," Rice told reporters.

"Should the government of Syria use this window, rather than to de-escalate, to intensify the violence, it will be most unfortunate and it will be certainly our view that the Security Council will need to respond to that failure in a very urgent and serious way," she said.

Britain, France and the United States have distributed a draft presidential statement endorsing the April 10 deadline. The first formal negotiations on the text with the other 12 council members started on Tuesday.

Rice, the Security Council president for April, said the statement was intended to "underscore the central importance of the Syrian government adhering to its commitment to halt all offensive actions by April 10."

France's U.N. envoy Gerard Araud said the text could be agreed by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

While the U.S. envoy said the Security Council was "united" behind Annan's six-point peace plan for Syria, Russia has already signaled that it opposes any "artificial" deadline against Assad.

Russia and China have vetoed two resolutions on Syria, using their powers as permanent members of the council, and took a tough line on the wording in statements agreed so far.

The statement prepared by Britain, France and the United States, would call for Syria to "immediately" implement the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons from cities and warn of "further measures as appropriate" if Syria did fail to meet the deadline.

The possible "further measures" phrase was already included in a statement backing Annan's peace plan which Russia and China agreed in March.

Annan may come to New York to brief the Security Council and U.N. General Assembly soon after April 10, envoys said.