The UN Security Council unanimously approved a draft resolution on Syria – RBC

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Photo: REUTERS 2015

The UN Security Council on 18 December meeting unanimously approved a resolution on the settlement of the conflict in Syria, reports Reuters.

The document stresses the need for talks between the Syrian authorities and the opposition, said the agency. The talks will be held under the auspices of the UN, they will begin in January 2016.

The approved resolution also establishes control of the UN Security Council on the implementation of the agreements that the group of international negotiators reached in November in Vienna.

The draft resolution also suggests that in the next 18 months after the start of work on the draft of a new constitution in Syria will be elections under international supervision, says The New York Times. In the document, there is no exact date of commencement of work on a new constitution and a mention of whether the current Syrian President Bashar Assad to stand in these elections, says the publication.

One of the possible obstacles to the implementation of the document may be the question of which of the disparate rebel groups will participate in the talks with the Syrian government, and whether they will agree to enter into dialogue with no guarantee the resignation of Bashar al-Assad, said The New York Times.

The resolution also leaves open the question of whether Other rebel groups be designated as terrorist organizations, not participating in the ceasefire. The document stresses the need to reach a “common understanding” in determining which groups are terrorist and which can participate in the political talks with the Syrian government.

The resolution endorses the process of gluttony efforts of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other major regional players with European governments to create a diplomatic road map to resolve the Syrian conflict.

Senior US officials told The New York Times on condition of anonymity, said on Friday, before the UN Security Council proceeded to discuss the draft resolution on Syria , head of the US Department of State, John Kerry, met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Then, according to sources of publication, Lavrov and Kerry met with representatives of other States permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China and France.

An hour before the vote took place the UN Security Council, it was reported that five permanent members of the Security Council approved a draft resolution on Syria. Agentsvo Reuters notes that the US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power then phoned representatives of other ten states who sit on the Security Council.