27/09/2013 10:39
Syria chemical weapons: UN discusses Syria draft text
The UN Security Council has discussed a draft resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons after the US and Russia agreed the text, the BBC reported.
The vote in the 15-member Council could now take place later on Friday, diplomats at the UN in New York said.
The agreement breaks a two-and-a-half year deadlock in the UN over Syria.
It is seen as a key step in a US-Russia brokered plan earlier this month under which Syria agreed to disclose its arsenal and eliminate it by mid-2014.
Russia and China have three times blocked Western-backed resolutions in the Security Council against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The council discussed the draft resolution on Thursday evening (GMT Friday) at the UN headquarters.
Ahead of the meeting, Moscow and Washington had disagreed over the wording of the draft.
The US - backed by France and the UK - had pushed for a resolution carrying the threat of military action. Russia had opposed this. The five nations are permanent veto-wielding members of the council.
But a deal was struck on Thursday.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, tweeted: "Agreement reached w/Russia on UNSC [UN Security Council] Resolution legally obligating #Syria to give up CW [chemical weapons] they used on their people. Going to full UNSC tonight."
She added that the draft "establishes that Syria's use of CW is threat to international peace & security & creates a new norm against the use of CW".