UN security council backs Syria peace plan

“Now that we have a United Nations resolution… and a process moving”, he said, “the door is much more open… for us to consider greater ways of cooperation”.

The text called for the United Nations to present the council with options for monitoring a ceasefire within one month of the adoption of the resolution, reported Reuters.

The council is due to meet at 4 p.m. ET (2100 GMT).It was a rare example of agreement between Russian Federation and the United States.

He emphasized that victory over the Islamic State group, also known by the Arabic acronym Daesh, must pass through a peaceful settlement in the broader Syrian civil war.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said after the council met there remain “sharp differences” on the fate of Mr Assad.

Western countries have called for his departure, but Russian Federation and China say he should not be required to leave power as a precondition for peace talks.

“This council is sending a clear message to all concerned”, Kerry said. United Nations diplomats said a key stumbling block was how to address the issue of the transitional government.

At the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban pledged that “the United Nations stands ready to undertake these important tasks”.

‘But I hope that we will look back on today as a significant step in that direction’.

He also called for the end to allied air strikes and lifting on the siege on rebel controlled areas as “confidence building measures”.

De Mistura said he would issue invitations in January to a first round of talks among Syrians, but did not indicate who would be on the list.

Within six months, the process should establish “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance”, and set a schedule for drafting a new constitution. “Without peace talks, the cease-fire can not be sustained”.

The resolution acknowledges that the peace process will not end the conflict because it bars “terrorist groups” operating in the country, including the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, from participating in a cease-fire.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said he presented lists submitted from each country of groups they consider terrorist organisations.

Missing from the talks so far has been the man at the center of the storm: Mr. Assad, whose barrel bombs, chemical weapons and vicious tactics have so embittered a huge segment of his own population that his critics insist he can no longer rule the country.

Lavrov stressed that “terrorists of all stripes have no place in the talks” and said, “It is inadmissible to divide terrorists among good and bad ones”.

There were still differences on the future of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who Western countries want ousted but remains a close ally of Russian Federation and Iran. “Without peace talks, the cease-fire can not be sustained. Without a cease-fire, peace talks can not continue to produce results”, he said.

Wang noted the “severe threat posed by global terrorism”, a reference to the Islamic State group, which has exploited the chaos to seize large parts of Syria. It also backed a timeline previously agreed in Vienna for talks between the government on a unity government and opposition, and eventual elections. Moscow, meanwhile, has been bolstering Assad with airstrikes ostensibly aimed at ISIS but more often, according to the Pentagon, targeting other opposition fighters, including ones supported by Washington.