Saudi Arabia seeks new UN resolution on Syria

Saudi Arabia is proposing a UN General Assembly resolution which will highlight a Syrian government threat to use chemical weapons, its UN envoy said Wednesday. The new Arab initiative follows the failure of a western-attempt to get the UN Security Council to threaten sanctions against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad over the 16-month-old conflict, diplomats said, according to AFP . Russia and China vetoed the council resolution last week. Saudi Arabia’s UN Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi told reporters the resolution would be submitted in coming days and he hoped for a vote “probably early next week.” UN diplomats said the resolution could call on the 193 UN member states to follow sanctions that have been ordered against Syria by the Arab League. That would be opposed by Russia and China after their veto last Thursday. The resolution could also demand humanitarian access to conflict-stricken parts of Syria, the diplomats said. The UN General Assembly cannot force legally binding sanctions, like the 15-nation Security Council. But no country can veto any of its resolutions which just need a majority.