India gets UN draft on Syria to not seek Assad stepdown

United Nations: A Saudi Arabia-drafted resolution on Syria, which is set to be voted upon in the UN General Assembly, has dropped its demand for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and sanctions be imposed against the country after some member States, including India, objected to the provisions. [caption id=“attachment_403570” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Agencies[/caption] The draft resolution had demanded regime change and that the Syrian army stop its shelling and helicopter attacks and withdraw to its barracks. While the resolution, if passed by the 193-member General Assembly on Friday, will not be legally binding, it will be moral and symbolic in nature. Voting on the resolution will be through simple majority and there is no veto. The resolution has been drafted by Saudi Arabia, which was “frustrated” by the fact that the UN Security Council has not been able to act on Syria. It had made particular demands for regime change, sanctions against Syria and that Assad step down. A senior member of the Indian delegation here said its officials “worked over time” to get these demands dropped from the resolution. Others countries like Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa too were not in support of the provisions demanding regime change and sanctions. The Indian Ambassador to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri had several rounds of discussions with his Saudi and Qatari counterparts. After some heavylifting, India was able to get the provisions for sanctions and regime change dropped from the resolution, the official added. PTI