Toned down

European countries have put forward a UN draft resolution, dropping previous calls for immediate sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime.

The scaled-down version of the UN resolution was proposed by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal, and backed by the United States. It includes the threat of future sanctions only if Assad's government fails to halt its military crackdown on civilians. The amendment was aimed at overcoming strong opposition from Russia and China, and breaking the deadlock at the UN Security Council.

The new draft voices "grave concern" at the situation in Syria and demands "an immediate end to all violence."

If the Syrian government does not comply with the resolution, the council would "adopt targeted measures, including sanctions," the draft reads.

The UN says that the violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Syria, which began in mid-March, has already cost more than 2,700 lives.

Watered down wording

Last month, western powers circulated a draft resolution calling for sanctions against Assad and a number of his close allies. At the time, they said they wanted a vote as soon as possible, but that vote never came.

Russia and China, which hold the power of veto at the 15-member council, are key allies of Syria, and they opposed the earlier resolution. Brazil, India and South Africa also objected to the more strongly-worded version.

Western diplomats said they hoped the new resolution would be more palatable to those five nations. They want to hold talks on the resolution on Wednesday, and to vote on the matter in the coming days.

If passed the resolution would be "sending a warning to Syria," said France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud.

He added that his country would have preferred sanctions and many non-diplomats might consider the resolution "weak" and "meaningless" after more than six months of violence.

"But in our world it will be a significant first step. It will be the first time there has been a resolution against Syria and it will be talking about sanctions," Araud said in New York.

The situation in Syria is different from Libya, where the Security Council approved military action to protect civilians in March. In that instance, the Arab League and African support played a key role in getting the resolution passed. Arab states have so far been cautious in their condemnation of Assad, over concerns about the stability of the entire region if the regime were to collapse.

The European Union has already imposed targeted sanctions on Syrian business, oil imports, and senior officials in an attempt to intensify pressure on Assad.

Author: Joanna Impey (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Nancy Isenson