Russian proposes new draft resolution on Syria to UN

Russia has proposed a draft resolution on Syria to the UN Security Council that extends the UN mission in the country without any threat of sanctions, a UN diplomats said. Russian Deputy UN Ambassador Igor Pankin said last night that the draft resolution had been sent to the 14 other members of the Security Council. According to the UN diplomat, the Russian draft incorporates recommendations from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to redeploy the mission from the field to the capital and focus on promoting a political dialogue. It proposes extending the UN Supervision Mission in Syria for another three months. It also backs a proposal by UN leader Ban Ki-moon that the UN operation take on a more political mission and cut back the number of military observers. The draft "strongly urges" all sides to immediately cease violence and calls for "urgent" and "immediate" implementation of Annan's plan. But there is no threat of action against Assad and the Syrian opposition, even though Annan has said there should be "consequences" for not carrying out his plan. The Russian draft commits the Security Council "to assess the implementation of this resolution and to consider further steps as appropriate." But the diplomat said the Russian draft needs to be combined with pressure on the parties to end the violence and a more comprehensive approach to address the complex Syrian situation. On April 21, the UN Security Council met and unanimously voted on Resolution 2043 to send a mission of 300 observers to Syria for "an initial 90-day period," which will end on July 20. The Russian proposal comes ahead of a Wednesday briefing to the Security Council by UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan on his six-point peace plan for the country.