Russia Proposes UN Resolution On Syria Without Sanctions

July 10, 2012

Russia is pushing for a Security Council resolution on Syria that would extend the UN mission in the country for another three months without any threat of sanctions.

Russia’s deputy UN envoy, Igor Pankin, says the resolution was sent to the council’s other 14 members ahead of a briefing on July 11 by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on efforts to revive his peace plan.

The Security Council must decide the future of the UN observer mission in Syria by July 20, when its mandate expires.

Also on July 11, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was expected to hold talks with Abdel Basset Sayda, the new leader of the Syrian National Council (SNC), which is based in Turkey and openly backed by Western and Arab states.

The SNC is an umbrella organization for resistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.