UNSC Reaches Deal on Syria Observers
The UN Security Council has scheduled a vote on a draft resolution on Saturday to authorize the deployment to Syria of up to 300 unarmed military observers.
According to diplomats, the UN Security Council has reached a tentative accord on the resolution.
European nations had wanted the threat of sanctions to be included in the resolution. But the final draft text talks only of backing the resolution with
"further steps as appropriate."
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin called for a "unanimous vote" on the text his
country took a leading role in drawing up. But US ambassador Susan Rice indicated that "a vote is not certain" as western governments decide whether the conditions for the force are strong enough.
Painstaking talks brought rival Russian and European resolutions into a single draft text. The final proposal would give UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon the task of making "an assessment on whether it was safe enough to send the unarmed military observers and civilians experts."
Under the proposed resolution, the full mission would have an initial three month mandate to monitor the cessation of hostilities which started on April 12. Halting hostilities was part of a six-point plan agreed by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and Assad.
It is worth mentioning that the council has approved an advanced mission of 30 observers and seven are already in Syria.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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