UNITED NATIONS: Western and Arab states demanding Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s exit are under pressure to produce a plan to make that happen, but their unwillingness to act outside a deadlocked UN Security Council leaves them looking fractured and powerless.
Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from the “Friends of Syria” - a group that includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - are due to meet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly today.
“I just expect ideas to be presented. There will be no concrete plans,” Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Erabi said. “Governments are not ready to put plans into action and the Security Council is not agreeing on anything.”
The 18-month uprising against Assad’s rule has killed around 30,000 people, according to activists. The protests have further escalated into an armed insurgency fighting with sectarian overtones that could drag in regional powers.
Russia, which has three times vetoed a Security Council resolution on Syria, stuck to its position: Assad’s departure should not be a precondition for a political transition and under no circumstances will it support a UN resolution that could lead to military intervention.
UN-Arab League representative Lakhdar Brahimi told the Security Council that the situation in Syria is worsening.
REUTERS
