EU Powers Slam Moscow’s New U.N. Resolution on Syria

France and Germany said Tuesday that a new Russian draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council on the Syrian crisis was inadequate, as Britain said it was unlikely Russia would let the U.N. body take any serious action.

It was "very far from responding to the reality of the situation in Syria", where President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on protests has left thousands of people dead, French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said.

France wants the Security Council to demand that the Syrian regime end repression, respect the rights of the Syrian people, and back the Arab League plan to end the crisis, he said.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also said the draft did not go far enough.

"In our view, the United Nations Security Council needs to deal again with the situation in Syria," he said in a statement.

"The latest Russian draft resolution does not, in our view, go far enough, although I welcome the fact that other partners, including Russia, are beginning to show some movement in their position.

"What is important in our view is a clear and unambiguous condemnation of the violence committed by the Assad regime. We will push further for this.

"The talks in New York are intensifying. We Europeans are pushing for the U.N. Security Council to take a common position on Syria."

Russia produced the draft on Monday after facing weeks of criticism over the slow pace of talks, diplomats said.

Western diplomats, however, said there was no apparent change in the Russian position opposing any strong U.N. action against Assad's crackdown.

Russia and China vetoed a European resolution on Syria in October, calling it a move by Western nations toward regime change in Syria.

Russia proposed its own resolution in December but Britain, France, Germany and the United States have said the text is not acceptable because it puts opposition violence on the same level as the government's assault.

Diplomats said the latest text distributed by Russia will be discussed by experts on Tuesday.

The new text, however, only takes the existing Russian resolution and adds a list of amendments proposed by the European nations and the United States.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday that a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria was "long overdue", but it was unlikely Russia would let the U.N. body take any serious action.

Hague said he had asked the Arab League, which has a monitoring mission in Syria, to come to the United Nations and suggest a way forward in the crisis over the Assad regime’s 10-month crackdown on protests.

"I believe the time is long overdue for the U.N. Security Council to be able to speak on Syria and speak with a united voice," Hague told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

"When we last tried this on October 4 our resolution was vetoed by Russia and by China. I am not optimistic that that would be a different situation with regard to Russia at the moment.

"But we will continue to discuss that with Russia and I think it would be helpful if the Arab League came directly to the Security Council."

Later on Tuesday, the United States said the new resolution proposed by Russia was insufficient and needed to hold Assad accountable.

"It's evident, obviously, that more work needs to be done from what we've seen so far," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

"We're going to work to realize a draft resolution that holds the Assad regime accountable but also obviously supports the Arab League efforts in this regard," Toner said.

But Toner refrained from more detailed criticism and said: "To a certain extent, we're pleased that the Russians have shown a willingness to discuss this."