UN Security Council ambassadors meet on Syria in New York

Envoys from the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council have held a meeting in New York City to discuss the crisis in Syria.

On Wednesday, a meeting of the ambassadors from Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States over the issue of chemical weapons use in Syria ended inconclusively.

A diplomat with the Council said in reference to the 45-minute meeting – held at Russia’s UN mission – that the envoys discussed “elements that could go into a resolution.”

“Everyone set out their position but there were no real negotiations.”

Moscow has proposed that Syria’s chemical weapons be placed under international control.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are set to discuss on Thursday the proposal.

“Everyone seems to want to leave space for the Kerry-Lavrov initiative,” the Council diplomat stated.

France, Britain and the US have been pushing for a resolution that will impose “extremely serious” consequences on the Syrian government if it fails to give control of its chemical arms.

France has drafted a resolution calling on Damascus to give up chemical weapons or face military action.

The rhetoric of war against Syria first gained momentum on August 21, when the militants operating inside the country and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that over a thousand people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus.

Categorically rejecting the accusation, the Syrian government blames the militants and says they had carried out the attack to draw in military intervention.

The Russian foreign minister has said that it will be “unacceptable” for the UN Security Council to approve a text that blames the Syrian government for the attack.