UN delays vote on Syria

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council delayed a vote on a new Syria resolution until today in a last-minute effort to get key Western nations and Russia to agree on measures to end the dramatically escalating violence.

International envoy Kofi Annan contacted several governments Tuesday and urged the council to postpone Wednesday’s scheduled vote so its deeply divided members could “unite and take concerted and strong action that would help stem the bloodshed in Syria and build momentum for a political transition,” his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.

Annan said Wednesday’s bombing in the heart of Syria’s capital that killed three top regime members — including the powerful brother-in-law of President Bashar Assad and the defense minister — “only underscores the urgency of decisive council action,” Fawzi said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was visiting China, also urged the Security Council to “take collective action, with a sense of unity.”

Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding permanent council nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — met behind closed doors Wednesday morning and agreed to Annan’s request to delay a vote.