UN goes into Russian plan for Syria chemical weapons

Envoys of the five permanent UN Security Council members have met in New York to discuss a Russian plan for making safe Syria's chemical weapons, BBC reported.

The UK, US and France are eager to frame a binding resolution but Russia prefers a non-binding declaration.

Russia and the US will hold key bilateral talks in Geneva on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called in a New York Times article for Washington to pursue diplomacy rather than use force.

"The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria's borders," he writes.

He calls for the use of the United Nations Security Council as "one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos".

Syria has backed Russia's plan to place the chemical arms under international control. The US says it will hold off military strikes to pursue diplomacy.

Russia said earlier that it had now sent the US details of its plans.
More than 100,000 people have died in Syria since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.


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