Ban Ki-moon to Press Major Powers on Syria

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he will press the foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China to take joint action on the Syria crisis at a meeting next week.

He made the announcement as U.N. envoys from the five permanent Security Council members met to discuss a French-drafted resolution on destroying Syria's chemical weapons.

Ban said attacks with banned chemical weapons, which had led to threats of a U.S. military strike against President Bashar Assad, was only the "tip of the iceberg" in the Syria crisis.

He told a press conference the major powers had to take a "broader" look at the 30-month-old Syrian conflict and tackle the general surge in fighting and the mounting refugee and humanitarian strife.

The U.N. leader said he would meet with the foreign ministers of all five key nations in New York next week when world leaders gather for the U.N. General Assembly summit. U.N. officials said the meeting would be on September 25.

Ban is to meet separately with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss a possible peace conference to end what he called the "worst crisis we have experienced in many, many years."

The talks with Kerry and Lavrov are expected on September 28.

The permanent Security Council members held new negotiations Wednesday on a resolution to back a Russia-U.S. accord aiming to destroy Assad's chemical weapons.

Diplomats said ambassadors discussed a French text which included a demand for action under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter if Assad does not stick to the plan. France also wants chemical weapons attacks in Syria referred to the International Criminal Court.

Lavrov said when agreeing the disarmament plan with Kerry in Geneva on Saturday that there would be a U.N. resolution with Chapter VII measures but no threat of force.

The Russian foreign minister said Tuesday, however, that his country would not allow any action under Chapter VII.

The U.N.'s Chapter VII allows for compulsory economic sanctions and other measures as well as military force.