UN Security Council to vote on Syria East Ghouta ceasefire resolution Saturday

24 Feb, 2018 03:36

The United Nations has delayed the vote on the East Ghouta ceasefire resolution until 5pm GMT on Saturday, president of the Security Council, Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, told journalists. The delay was caused by intense diplomatic negotiations, led by Russia, which seeks amendments to the Swedish-Kuwaiti draft. Moscow objects to the wording of the draft resolution, which proposes a 30-day ceasefire, as it pins the blame for the escalation of violence on Damascus and prepares ground for a potential regime change in Syria. On Thursday, Russia’s UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia criticized the text as “utopian” at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.