UN Security Council adopts Syria peace plan
There were still differences on the future of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who Western countries want ousted but remains a close ally of Russia and Iran.
The United Nations Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing an international roadmap towards peace in Syria. The UN will have now have to come up with options for monitoring a ceasefire in the country, and present it to the council within a month after the resolution is adopted, reported Reuters.
The resolution also backed a timeline, which was previously agreed upon, to establish a dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition, and to hold fresh elections in the country. It also endorsed the continued battle to defeat Islamic State militants, who have seized large parts of both Syria and neighbouring Iraq.
The resolution was adopted after the United States and Russia clinched a deal, in spite of having very different views on the Syrian crisis. US Secretary of State John Kerry said there were still differences on the future of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, whom Western countries want ousted, though he remains a close ally of Russia and Iran.