UN Security Council to vote Saturday on Syria cease-fire

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote Saturday morning on a Russian resolution that would endorse the cease-fire agreement in Syria and reiterate support for a roadmap to peace that starts with a transitional government.

The draft resolution also calls for “rapid, safe and unhindered” access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country. And it looks forward to a meeting in late January between the Syrian government and opposition in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana “as an important part of the Syrian-led political process facilitated by the United Nations.”

Russia and Turkey, who brokered the cease-fire agreement, circulated the text and the draft resolution to Security Council members Thursday night. After closed discussions in the council Friday morning, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin circulated a revised text, called for a vote on Saturday, and urged council members to support it.

Source: AP