The United States has held a number of consultations on a surprise Russian resolution on Syria and will continue discussions, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday.
Russian representatives on Thursday circulated a draft resolution calling for an end of violence in Syria among UN Security Council members. The draft demands that “all parties in Syria immediately stop any violence irrespective of where it comes from,” but does not call for sanctions.
“Discussions are continuing in New York on the draft that the Russians put forward. We’ve had a number of informal discussions leading to, we hope, very serious consideration of a serious UN Security Council draft,” Nuland said.
“I think the Secretary spoke - I spoke last Friday - to some of the strengthening that we would like to see in the Russian draft,” she said.
In October, Russia joined China in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on anti-government protesters which the UN believes have left more than 5,000 people dead.
Anti-government protests have been underway in Syria since March. The opposition demands al-Assad’s resignation. The demand is backed by the United States and EU countries that imposed a number of economic sanctions against Damascus.
