08/09/12

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) answers questions during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2012. Lavrov was in Tehran for a one-day official visit. UPI

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept. 8 (UPI) — The U.N. Security Council will be asked to endorse a Syria peace plan later this month that Russia brokered in Geneva, a top Russian official said Saturday.

At a June 30 meeting in the Swiss city, world powers agreed that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the violence.

The Security Council will be asked to approve the “communiqué” that came out of that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrvov told reporters in Vladivostok.

Lavrvov did not mention any details in the plan, but said its implementation did not necessarily mean Syrian President Bashar Assad would have to step down.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assad would not be part of the transitional government.

Russia and China have twice vetoed U.N. resolutions critical of Syria, claiming the actions favored the rebels. They deny they support Assad.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Lavrvov complained that U.S. sanctions on Syria and Iran “are directly affecting the interests of Russian business, particularly the banks.”

He said Russia did not want any sanctions, and supported a proposed conference of Syrian opposition groups later this month.