UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote for Wednesday afternoon on a new Syria resolution while Russia and the West remain at loggerheads over threatening sanctions against the Syrian government.
But diplomats said there is still a possibility of last-minute negotiations.
The council must decide by Friday whether to extend the mandate of the 300-strong U.N. observer force in Syria.
Moscow’s draft resolution calls for the “immediate implementation” of a peace plan from Kofi Annan, the U.N. and Arab League envoy for the crisis, and the guidelines for a political transition approved at a meeting in Geneva last month, but it objects to the resolution that would be tied to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which could allow the use of force to end the conflict in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Annan on Tuesday. There were no comments from Putin afterward.
Annan’s plan was to begin with a cease-fire followed by political dialogue, but increasing fighting has called into question whether the plan is obsolete.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted Tuesday that a Chapter 7 resolution is required to implement Annan’s plan, calling the process the “best hope” for ending the civil war and urging Russia and China to get on board.
