UN SC permanent members agree on draft resolution on Syria

The permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, Russia, the United States and France) have agreed on a draft resolution on chemical weapons in Syria, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The United States, Russia, France, China and the UK have agreed on the core of a UN Security Council resolution to rid Syria of its chemical weapons, two diplomats said on Wednesday. The agreement came after the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the council met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier in the day, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity, according to the agency. They said a draft resolution could be presented to the full 15-nation council soon and the five permanent members would also meet on Friday to discuss a proposed Syria peace conference in Geneva (Geneva 2). The foreign ministers of the permanent member states of the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have stressed the need to address the problem of chemical weapons in Syria, in strict accordance with the Russian-American agreements reached in Geneva on September 14. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Thursday that the meeting of the P5 foreign ministers and the UN head took place in New York on Wednesday. “The meeting focused on the Syrian issues,” the ministry informed. “The parties agreed on the need to address the problems of chemical weapons in Syria, in strict accordance with the Russian-American agreements reached in Geneva on September 14.” “They stressed the importance of active efforts with a view to calling an international conference on Syria with the participation of the Syrian sides, as well as the leading international and regional partners in order to achieve a political and diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis,” stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.