Syria conflict on UN Secretary Council’s agenda

International news agency AFP reports that the UN Security Council will today discuss the Syria crisis. The meeting was announced by French diplomats after Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States held talks on the new resolution.

According to reports, the meeting was called by Morocco which has been unable to agree a resolution on Syria's fierce crackdown on the anti-government protests that erupted last March.

"A draft resolution could be sent to all members of the council tomorrow," a Security Council diplomat said.

A new resolution giving strong backing to the Arab League's initiative to end the Syria crisis has been drawn up by Britain, France, Germany and Arab nations, including Morocco and Qatar.

The Arab League has called on President Bashar al-Assad to hand over powers to a deputy so that elections can be held in Syria. According to the UN says more than 5,400 people have been killed.

Russia and China used their veto powers as permanent members of the council to block a European resolution in October.

Russia has since proposed its own resolution, but there have hardly been any negotiations on the bid, which Western countries have said is unbalanced.

A Western diplomat said Friday's meeting "would be the response of a number of countries to the Russian resolution and the veto in October."

A copy of the draft resolution obtained by AFP "condemns the continued widespread and gross violations of human rights" and makes a new call for an immediate halt to the government crackdown.

If the draft is agreed upon, the council would say it "fully supports" the Arab League plan of January 22, which calls on Assad to hand over powers "to facilitate a political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system."

The draft resolution hints at sanctions which could be opposed by Russia and China.