UN security council discusses Syria resolution

The UN Security Council met yesterday to discuss a draft resolution against the Syrian government.

Pro-democracy activists and the Arab League have urged the UN to take stronger action after a surge in violence this week in which dozens of people have been killled.

The UK, France and Germany drafted a resolution together with Arab states, supporting the Arab League's call for President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to a deputy.

Russia, a key ally of Assad, has declared it will not back the resolution.

Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin told reporters after the meeting in New York that the draft resolution was unacceptable, but Moscow was ready to engage in further talks.

He said Russia had set out its "red lines" and that the resolution should not contain any threat of sanctions or an arms embargo.

Russia and China vetoed a previous draft resolution against Syria late last year.

Western countries have been hoping that Arab League support for this resolution will soften Russian resistance.

The current draft, presented to the security council by Morocco, largely supports a plan outlined by the Arab League earlier this week calling for Assad to hand authority to a deputy, who would form a national unity government with the opposition within two months.

The draft resolution calls for further measures if the Syrian government does not comply with the call for political transition.

The council will not vote on the resolution until next week.

The French ambassador to the UN, Gerrard Araud described the situation in Syria as a major crisis.

"The country is sinking into civil war. We are desperately looking for a political solution," he said.

Syria's UN ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, expressed anger towards the states that drafted the resolution.

"They are talking about my country without consulting us, without sharing with us their concerns, their remarks," he said.

"They deal with us as if we are a former colony, that we should subjugate ourselves to their will. They are wrong and they will be disappointed."

The UN meeting comes amid a surge of violence across Syria, with activists reporting 135 people killed in the past two days.

Opposition forces have set up checkpoints in parts of the capital, and reportedly forces loyal to Assad appear unable to maintain control.

The UN has conceded it cannot keep track of the death toll, which it estimated as more than 5,400 people since the unrest began last March.

The government says it is fighting "terrorists and armed gangs" and claims that some 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.