UN Security Council discusses draft statement to support Annan’s mission in Syria

Member States of the U.N. Security Council started to discuss a draft statement that supports the mediation efforts of U.N. envoy to Syria Kofi Annan. The draft also refers to other measures that will be taken in case Damascus refuses to abide by Annan’s proposals to solve the Syrian crisis.             

France had forwarded the draft statement to the UNSC in hopes that it will be adopted on Tuesday.      

The draft urges Syrian President Bashar Assad and the Syrian opposition to fully and immediately implement the six-point settlement deal presented by Kofi Annan during talks in Damascus.          

On a related note, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said that the situation in Syria was unacceptable and called for the international community to speak with one voice and for Security Council members to display unity.                 

The United Nations priorities were stopping the violence and starting political dialogue, Ban told an audience in Bogor, Indonesia, during a visit to Southeast Asia.