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UN resolution could spur Syria civil war, Russia warns UN resolution could spur Syria civil war, Russia warns
(about 2 hours later)
The Western-Arab drive to adopt a UN resolution on Syria is a "path to civil war", Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov has warned. The Western-Arab drive to adopt a UN resolution on Syria is a "path to civil war", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has warned.
He told Interfax news agency it would "not lead to a search for compromise". He said demands for President Bashar al-Assad to stand down would "not lead to a search for compromise".
The resolution is set to be discussed at a UN Security Council meeting on the deepening Syrian crisis. The resolution will be discussed at an imminent UN Security Council meeting on the deepening Syrian crisis.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi will be asking the council to back the league's new plan calling on President Bashar al-Assad to resign. The talks come after a day of particularly heavy bloodshed and with the army on the streets in Damascus.
But Russia had already threatened to veto any such resolution. More than 100 people were killed across the country on Monday, including 40 civilians, said activists.
The diplomacy follows a day of particularly heavy bloodshed, with more than 100 people killed across Syria. Another 20 people were killed on Tuesday, the Local Co-ordination Committee said. Such claims cannot be independently verified as the the BBC and other international media are severely restricted inside Syria.
Activists say more than 40 civilians were among the dead in Monday's violence, but their claims cannot be independently verified as the the BBC and other international media are severely restricted inside Syria. The UN has conceded it cannot keep track of the escalating death toll, but estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since the unrest began last March.
The UN has conceded it cannot keep track of the overall death toll, but estimates more than 5,400 people have been killed since the unrest began last March. On Saturday, the Arab League announced it was suspending its month-old monitoring mission in Syria because of an upsurge of violence.
The latest draft of the resolution strongly condemns violence and human rights abuses by the Syrian government. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC that Russia would be increasingly isolated across the Arab World if it vetoed the UN resolution.
It calls on countries to stop the flow of arms to Syria, although it does not impose an arms embargo. Regime change 'obsession'
But the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN says the core of the plan is an endorsement for an Arab peace plan that would see President Assad delegate power to his deputy to oversee a political transition, our correspondent says.
The Russians have said this amounts to regime change. They have also criticised the document's threat of unspecified further measures if Syria does not comply.
Western nations are still hoping to convince Russia to at least abstain, rather than veto the resolution, our correspondent adds.
Running battlefield
Syria said on Monday the army had regained control of some Damascus suburbs recently held by rebel forces.
The interior ministry described the battles of the past three days around the eastern edge of the capital as a "qualitative operation" by security forces, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
Troops had "finished off" a large number of "terrorists" and had arrested others, capturing large quantities of weapons, the ministry added.
Activists say security forces have also moved into the mountain town of Rankous, just to the north of Damascus, which had been surrounded and bombarded for nearly a week.
The city of Homs, further north, saw the highest toll on Monday with 72 dead, activists say.
Parts of Homs have become a running battlefield, with the government unable to restore control over several defiant quarters where armed rebels have been increasingly active, our correspondent says.
It looks as though the violence in Syria could go on and on as there is nothing much the UN Security Council could do which would have an immediate effect on the ground.It looks as though the violence in Syria could go on and on as there is nothing much the UN Security Council could do which would have an immediate effect on the ground.
Any resolution that emerges from New York won't involve sanctions - it may not even involve outright condemnation of the government, because the Western powers are very keen to get the Russians and Chinese and others on board for some kind of international consensus.Any resolution that emerges from New York won't involve sanctions - it may not even involve outright condemnation of the government, because the Western powers are very keen to get the Russians and Chinese and others on board for some kind of international consensus.
It's hard to see how anything can come out of the UN - despite all the efforts and good will on the part of a lot of people - which could make much difference on the ground.It's hard to see how anything can come out of the UN - despite all the efforts and good will on the part of a lot of people - which could make much difference on the ground.
Activists say many civilians have died in bombardments and sniping, and have also reported sectarian killings and abductions, with two whole families murdered in recent days. The latest draft of the resolution strongly condemns violence and human rights abuses by the Syrian government. It calls on countries to stop the flow of arms to Syria, but does not impose an arms embargo.
'Foolishness' At the core of the plan is an endorsement of an Arab League peace plan that would see President Assad delegate power to his deputy to oversee a political transition.
A Syrian foreign ministry official said of Western diplomatic moves that Syria would "defeat the policies of chaos", state news agency Sana said. Moscow, which has maintained close ties with Damascus and has a naval base in the country, says this amounts to regime change and has criticised the document's threat of unspecified further measures if Syria does not comply.
"We regret that those statements are still coming from countries accustomed to making the Middle East a field for their foolishness and failing experiments," the official added. France says 10 of the 15 countries on the Security Council now support the resolution, taking it past the threshold needed to force a full vote.
The plan has been backed by the US, UK and France, but rejected by the Syrian government. Russia, one of the five permanent council members, has already said it will veto the action, but the BBC's UN correspondent Barbara Plett says Western nations still hope to convince it to at least abstain.
France says 10 of the 15 countries on the Security Council now support the Arab League text. A minimum of nine council members must lend their backing in order for a resolution to be put to a vote. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said some countries are "obsessed" with regime change in the Middle East region.
However, Russia - as one of the five permanent council members - can veto any proposed resolution. "If this vigour to change regimes persists we are going to witness a very bad situation, much, much broader than just Syria, Libya or Egypt or any other single country," he said.
Moscow, which has maintained its ties with Damascus, has resisted moves for a UN resolution condemning the violence in Syria. Russia has a naval base in the country and supplies arms to Syria. But he said Moscow has never insisted that Mr Assad remaining in power was a prerequisite for a settlement. "We said that the decision has to be Syrian," he said, accusing "external players" of "egging opposition groups on to crawl away from this dialogue".
'Syrian' decision Mr Lavrov was speaking in Sydney, where he was quoted as saying he had declined a phone call from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as he was too busy.
But in comments reported by Interfax, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted Moscow had "never said that [President] Assad's remaining in power is a prerequisite for a settlement. We said something else - we said that the decision has to be Syrian," he said. The White House said countries weighing their options at the Security Council should take into account that Mr Assad's time in power was running out.
"Some other external players," he added, "are egging opposition groups on to crawl away from this dialogue. This is wrong."
Mr Lavrov was speaking in Sydney, where he was quoted as saying he had declined a phone call from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, explaining that "it was in the middle of my meetings with Australian partners".
The White House said countries weighing their options at the Security Council should take into account that Mr Assad would be ousted.
"The regime has lost control of the country and will eventually fall," said spokesman Jay Carney."The regime has lost control of the country and will eventually fall," said spokesman Jay Carney.
Earlier, the UK also urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition. Syrian state news agency Sana quoted a foreign ministry source as saying that the Damascus government would "defeat the policies of chaos".
"Russia can no longer explain blocking the UN and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," said a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron. "We regret that those statements are still coming from countries accustomed to making the Middle East a field for their foolishness and failing experiments," the source added.
On Saturday, the Arab League announced it was suspending its month-old monitoring mission in Syria because of an upsurge of violence. Running battlefield
On Monday, Syria's army said it had regained control of some Damascus suburbs recently held by rebel forces.
The interior ministry said troops had arrested or "finished off" a large number of "terrorists", capturing large quantities of weapons.
Activists say security forces have also moved into the mountain town of Rankous, just to the north of Damascus, which had been surrounded and bombarded for nearly a week.
The city of Homs, further north, saw the highest toll on Monday with 72 dead, activists say - victims of bombs and snipers. Sectarian killings and abductions are also reported.
Parts of Homs are reported to have become a running battlefield, with the government unable to restore control over several quarters where armed rebels have been increasingly active.
There were reports of an oil pipeline explosion near the city on Tuesday - one resident told Reuters it had been caused by a tank bombardment.