Clinton: U.S. to study Russian draft of UN Syria resolution

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that Washington will study the Russia-proposed draft UN resolution on the violence in Syria, but differences remain. "I have not seen the draft. I've had it just briefly described to me, and there are some issues in it that we would not be able to support," Clinton said at a joint press conference alongside visiting Danish Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal. "There is, unfortunately, a seeming parity between the government and peaceful protestors and then other Syrians who are trying to defend themselves, but we're going to study the draft carefully," she said. Russia on Thursday proposed a new draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council. Western countries have expressed willingness to consider and negotiate the proposal. Clinton said the draft will have to be shared with the Arab League, adding that "hopefully," the United States can work with the Russians."It's just that we have differences in how they are approaching it," she said. "But we hope to be able to work with them." The UN estimates that some 5,000 people have died in Syria since anti-government protests broke out in mid-March. The Arab League and Turkey have joined the United States and its European partners in increasing pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by imposing targeted sanctions. On Oct. 4, Russia, along with China, vetoed a Security Council draft resolution on Syria, saying the draft was based on a "philosophy of confrontation" and ran counter to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.