The Arab League (AL) opened the UN Security Council debate of the Syrian crisis on Tuesday, calling on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but a top Syrian representative at the UN emerged immediately to defend his president.

"We call on the Council to adopt the draft resolution sponsored by Morocco," said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who is also the chairman of the AL's ministers council, referring to the proposal formally calling for an end to Assad's rule.

"Otherwise we would be sending a wrong message to the Syrian regime that encourages it to continue oppressing its people, which might have serious consequences on peace, security and stability of Syria and the whole region," he said.

The draft resolution, proposed by Morocco on Friday and supported by Western countries, wants the Security Council to back an Arab League plan, which calls on Syrian President Bashar al- Assad to hand over power to his deputy so that new elections can be held.

He said, "Reality on the ground bears witness that the bloodshed has not stopped, that the killing machine is still at work, and that the violence is spreading."

He said that the Arab countries are trying to avoid foreign intervention, "particularly military intervention," in Syria.

"We are advocating the exertion of a concrete economic pressure so that the Syrian regime might realize that it is imperative to meet the demands of its people," he said. "We are not after regime change neither, for this is a matter that is up to the Syrian people to decide."

His remarks were echoed and underlined immediately afterward by Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi.

The league's latest proposal urges Assad to delegate power to his first vice president and formation of a national unity government within two months.

Ambassador Bashar al-Jafari, the permanent representative of Syria to the UN, rejected the Moroccan proposal and said, the Syrian people "will not accept any foreign interference in their internal affairs."

The Damascus envoy accused terrorists of destabilizing Syria.

"Syria rejects any decision outside the Arab League," he said, adding, if made, they are "a blatant violation" of the sovereignty of Syria.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "The United States urges the Security Council to back the Arab League's demand that the Syrian government immediately stop all attacks against civilians and guarantee the freedom of peaceful demonstrations."

"In accordance with the Arab League's plan, Syria must also release all arbitrarily detained citizens, return its military and security forces to their barracks, and allow full and unhindered access for monitors, humanitarian workers, and journalists," she said.

But that didn't call for military intervention and was not the same as the Libyan situation where the council gave the green light for NATO's "no-fly zone" to protect civilians.

"Syria is a unique situation that requires its own approach, tailored to the specific circumstances on the ground," Clinton said. "And that is exactly what the Arab League has proposed -- a path for a political transition that would preserve Syria's unity and institutions."

The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Guatemala, Germany, Morocco,and Portugal also spoke, in favor of the draft, which was opposed by Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the 15-nation council.

Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said, "The solution to the crisis can be found only through a Syrian-led, inclusive political process."

"Russia, which enjoys close, friendly contacts with the Syrian people and the Arab world from the very beginning, fought to ensure that the Syrian people would be able to decide for itself without bloodshed and violence and set a course format for necessary social, economic, and political reforms," he said.

"We are convinced that in a time of extreme internal political crisis the role of the international community should not be one of exacerbating conflict nor meddling by the use of economic sanctions or military force," Moscow's envoy said.

"No, it should be fostering dialogue so as to seek an optimally effective and smooth resolution with a view to cessation of violence and establishing Syrian-led inclusive political process. Russia stepped up its diplomatic efforts with Damascus, members of the Syrian opposition movement and the League of Arab States," he said.

Russia has proposed a meeting in Moscow with representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition to seek a political settlement of the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, China opposed the use of force to resolve the Syria crisis. "China is of the view that the Syrian people's request for reform and safe guarding of their own interests should be respected," said Ambassador Li Baodong, Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations. "It is imperative to put an immediate end to all violence in Syria."

He then called for "an inclusive political process widely participated in by all Syrian parties (and it) must be started without delay to speed up reform, to resolve differences and disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultations, so as to restore stability to Syria and enable it to embark on a path of all-round development."