Arab League chief heads to UN over Syria

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby headed to New York on Sunday seeking to win support from the U.N. Security Council for a plan to end violence in Syria by asking President Bashar al-Assad to step aside.   

Elaraby will brief the Security Council on Tuesday but the Arab initiative, which is backed by Western states, is facing resistance from Russia and China, two of the five permanent members of the council with veto powers.   

Elaraby, the league's secretary-general, will be joined in New York by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, whose country heads the league's committee charged with following Syrian developments. Qatar and fellow Gulf Arab state Saudi Arabia have been leading efforts to put pressure on Assad.   

Asked about China and Russia's reluctance to take new steps over Syria, Elaraby said he hoped the two nations would change  their position. "There are contacts with China and Russia on this issue," he said.   

He also said Arab monitors, whose work was suspended on Saturday after an escalation of violence, had gathered in Damascus and would not leave the Syrian capital until their status was decided following the withdrawal of Gulf observers from the team.   

Reuters