UN aims to hold international peace conference on Syria in mid-November

 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday the international community aims to hold an international peace conference on Syria in mid-November, the UN News Centre said. “The United Nations is ready to host Geneva-2,” the UN chief was quoted as saying.

 “Today can and must be a stepping stone to peace.”

 “It is time for the parties to focus on how to build the peaceful, Ban said, adding that the conference should be fully representative of the Syrian people.

“All those with influence on the parties must use that influence now. It is crucial to keep up the momentum,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged all parties to the Syrian “conflict” to join the talks.

 “We expect that increasingly fragmented Syrian opposition groups will finally be able to declare their readiness to take part in the international conference without preconditions, as the Syrian government did,” he said.

Syria’s envoy to the UN, Bashar Ja’afari, reiterated on Saturday that the Syrian government was “fully committed” to taking part in the event.

So far, the main obstacle to the Geneva-2 summit – intended to bring the Syrian government and “rebel forces” to the negotiating table – was reluctance to participate by the internationally recognized representatives of the insurgents, the”Syrian National Coalition”.

Chemical weapons resolution addresses Syria’s concerns – Syrian UN Ambassador

A resolution adopted by the UN Security Council to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons covers most of Damascus’ concerns, Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said on Friday.

Ja’afari, reacting after the Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution, said countries supporting “rebels” in Syria – Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France and the United States – should also abide by the resolution.

He said the Syrian government was “fully committed” to attending a proposed November peace conference in Geneva aimed at ending the crisis in Syria.

UN prepared to punish breaches of Syria resolution – Lavrov

The UN Security Council would be prepared to take punitive steps in the event of confirmed violations of a resolution demanding the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

“The United Nations Security Council … will stand ready to take action under Chapter 7 of the (UN) charter, quite clearly,” Lavrov said after the council unanimously approved the resolution. He was referring to the part of the charter covering the council’s power to enforce its decisions with sanctions or military force. Any such steps would require a new resolution.

 ‘The resolution does not fall under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and does not allow any automatic enforcement of coercive measures,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the Security Council vote.

The UN Security Council resolution on chemical weapons in Syria will have to be observed not only by the Syrian authorities, but also by the “opposition”, Lavrov stressed.

“The responsibility for the implementation of this resolution does not only lie on the government of Syria,”he said.

According to Lavrov, the Syrian “opposition” is also obliged to work with international experts as required by the Security Council resolution.

“We hope that more and more scattered groups of the Syrian “opposition “will finally be able – as the Syrian government has already done for a long time – to declare its readiness to participate in an international conference without preconditions,” Lavrov said.

Separately, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said world powers were aiming to hold an international peace conference in mid-November to help put an end to crisis in Syria.

UN Security Council unanimously approves Syria resolution

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution outlining the details of taking under international control and ultimately destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal.

Today’s historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council immediately after the vote.

The target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was set for mid-November.

The Council’s vote comes after a consensus was reached earlier on Friday by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in regards to the proposal.

The five veto-wielding members had agreed upon the text on Thursday before presenting the draft to the full 15-member body during overnight discussions.

The draft resolution is fully in line with the Geneva framework on the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria, Sergey Lavrov told the press earlier on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 68th session.

Chemical watchdog approves Syria disarmament plan

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has adopted a decision on Syria chemical arms by consensus, the UK ambassador to the UN said.

The world’s chemical watchdog adopted a plan shortly before the UN Security Council votes on a resolution including the blueprint.

“The decision is adopted and it is effective immediately,” Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons spokesman Michael Luhan told journalists.

“White smoke in the Hague,” British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant announced on his Twitter feed. “OPCW decision adopted by consensus.

The OPCW meeting comes after the US and Russia on Thursday agreed a draft UN Security Council resolution on destroying Syria’s chemical weapons, breaking a prolonged deadlock.

M.D