Russia willing to back ultimatum-free UN statement on Syria

MOSCOW: Russia said Tuesday it could back either a UN Security Council statement or a resolution on peace envoy Kofi Annan's proposal on ending the Syria crisis as long as it contained no ultimatums. The announcement came as Western powers weighed a statement strong enough to condemn Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on the opposition, while not antagonising Russia, Syria's top ally. "We are ready to back the mission of UN and Arab League representative Kofi Annan and the proposals to the government and opposition to Syria," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. "We are ready to support his proposals to the UN Security Council, and not only in the form of a statement but also a resolution," he said. But Lavrov also stressed that the proposals Annan made to Assad during their meetings in Damascus this month had still not been published and needed to be put up for an open debate at the Security Council. "First of all, these proposals must be published," Lavrov said after holding talks with his Lebanese counterpart Adnan Mansur. "Second of all, the Security Council should approve them not as an ultimatum but with consideration for the work that is ongoing, and approve them as the basis for Kofi Annan's continuing efforts to achieve agreement between all Syrians," he added. The UN Security Council was expected later Tuesday to discuss and possibly vote on a Western-drafted statement that diplomats said called for possible "further measures" if Assad failed to carry out Annan's proposals