(REUTERS-FEBRUARY, 17TH)
The U.N. General Assembly has passed the new draft resolution on Syria with 137 in favor, 12 against and 17 abstaining.
The resolution, is not substantially different from the one that was recently vetoed by Russia and China in the U.N. Security Council. It calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and demands the transition to democratic rule.
The Ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, has said Russia sees the resolution as an attempt to isolate the Syrian leadership, reject contacts with it, and impose a new form of political regulation. Churkin called the draft “unbalanced.”
Russia suggested amendments seeking the disarment of both government forces and rebels, but Arab League delegations dismissed the suggestions.
China rejects any foreign interference in Syria, adding that it does not believe sanctions will help the solution. The country insists that the resolution amounts to undue interference in the affairs of a sovereign state.