U.N. Backs Syria Peace Plan

In its first resolution to focus on the politics of ending Syria’s five-year-long war, the Security Council on Friday gave the United Nations an enhanced role in shepherding the opposing sides to talks for a political transition, with a timetable for a ceasefire, a new constitution and elections, all under UN auspices.

Kerry said there remains sharp differences on the fate of Syrian President Assad.

The resolution has been described as a rare gesture of unity on the Syria peace process by a council often deeply divided on the crisis, which is deep into its fifth year with well over 300,000 killed.

The UN Security Council threw its unanimous support Friday, December 18 behind a plan to end Syria’s brutal civil war by summoning rebels and the regime to the negotiating table.

But Syria’s ambassador to the U.N., Bashar Ja’afari, criticized the “glaring contradictions” between the talk about letting the Syrian people decide their fate and what he called interference in his country’s sovereignty by talking about replacing Assad.

For CRI, I’m Nick Harper in NY.

The high-stakes diplomatic balancing act aims to keep both Moscow and Riyadh on board as the ISSG aims to build momentum for peace talks and a ceasefire to start as early as January 1.

The United States and Arab allies remain convinced Assad must leave office as part of the process, but his ally Moscow insists this is a decision for the Syrian people.

Stressing on the importance of an actual government that has policing capacity and structure at areas in Syria that now aren’t governed, Obama said the long-term USA goal was to to stabilise lawless regions so that IS does not have any safe haven.

Western powers, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others reluctantly agreed to allow Assad to remain in place during a transition period, a compromise that has opened the door to a shift on the part of Russia, Western diplomats said.

Kerry said after the vote that the resolution has sent a clear message that “the time is now to stop the killing in Syria”.

Besides recognizing the 17-nation International Syrian Support Group’s efforts in the peace process, the resolution provides a rough timeline for political change in Syria.

Zarif also said “we still don’t know” if there will be any concrete progress in the talks that are aimed at bringing an end to Syria’s conflict.

United States and European officials say that Assad can not run in any elections organized along the lines major powers agreed in the two previous ministerial meetings in Vienna.

It reiterated previous calls for Member States to suppress terrorist acts by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Nusra Front and all others with Al Qaeda, ISIL and other terrorist groups.

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

Senior State Department officials told CNN that Kerry and Lavrov led negotiations Friday to fine-tune the text of the United Nations resolution. Mr. Kerry noted that 80 percent of Russian airstrikes were hitting opposition groups fighting Mr. Assad, not the forces of the Islamic State extremist group.