Obama presses for tough UN resolution on Syria

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a resolution that will mandate consequences for Syria if the country fails to hand over its chemical weapons.

“The crisis in Syria and the destabilization of the region goes to the heart of broader challenges that the international community must now confront,” said Obama in an address to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Tuesday morning.

He urged U.N. Security Council members to approve a resolution that would “mandate consequences for Syria if it fails to live up to the plan of turning its chemical weapons stockpiles over to the international community.”

“The Syrian government took a first step by giving an accounting of its stockpiles. Now, there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments. And there must be consequences if they fail to do so, ” Obama said.

Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that his country wouldn’t accept any UN resolution adopted under the Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which paves the way to military action in some cases.

The Russian stance came as the Western powers were mulling over a binding UN resolution on Syria under Chapter VII to ensure the compliance of Damascus.

Liu Jieyi, Chinese ambassador to UN, has condemned any use of chemical weapons, calling on the international community to beef up their efforts for a political solution to the Syria crisis.

“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns any use of chemical weapons,” he said last week, urging relevant parties to immediately stop the violence and bloodshed in Syria.

The United States and Russia reached a deal this month to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control before destroying them.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky announced Tuesday that the UN team tasked to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria will return to the Middle East country on Wednesday to complete its “ investigation of pending credible allegations,” including the March 19 incident at Khan al-Asal.

The UN fact-finding group will not check or verify Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles, which is the job of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, he said.