UN endorses Arab plan for Syria

in the Security Council on February 4.
Russia and China were among those opposing the resolution, which was drafted by Saudi Arabia and submitted by Egypt on behalf of Arab states.
The resolution urges UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a special envoy to Syria.
It also condemns Damascus for “widespread and systematic violations of human rights” and calls for the withdrawal of Syrian forces from towns and cities.
Syria’s ambassador Bashar Ja’afari rejected the resolution, telling the assembly it was part of a plot to overthrow Syria’s government and allow the “terrorist” opposition to take over the country.
Russian Foreign Ministry expressed regret with the UN General Assembly’s vote over the draft resolution on Syria, calling it “obviously biased”.
“We believe the draft is actually a copy of the UN Security Council’s draft resolution, which Russia and China have voted against on February 4. It was obviously biased and blamed the Syrian government solely for the situation in that country,” foreign ministry spokesman Alexandr Lukashevich said in a statement.
Russia and other 11 countries on Thursday voted against the draft resolution, which condemns Syrian authorities for human rights violations and calls on President Bashar al-Assad to resign.
Lukashevich said Russia is ready to participate in the draft’s accommodation to render it more balanced, and Moscow has submitted its amendments and remarks which reflected Russian approach to the settlement in Syria.
“We are ready to seek a compromise formula to resolve the Syrian crisis on the basis of the UN. But priority must be given to the interests of the Syrian people, peace and security in the whole region,” he said.
Moscow reiterated its demands to all the sides in Syria to stop violence immediately, not to allow outside involvement, and to start national dialogue about reform of the country’s political system. – Reuters/Xinhua.