The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to adopt a resolution aimed at ridding war-torn Syria of chemical weapons, bringing settlement of the 30-month-old Syrian crisis back within U.N. framework.
In adopting the resolution, the Security Council called for early convening of peace talks on Syria to implement the June 2012 Geneva communique.
Analysts say the adoption of the resolution, the first of its kind since the beginning of the Syria conflict in March 2011, will put the Syrian situation back on the track of peace from the verge of war, and bring solving the crisis within the U.N. framework.
Furthermore, the resolution broke the diplomatic impasse on the Syrian issue, and demonstrated unity within the U.N. Security Council.
IN LINE WITH POLITICAL SETTLEMENT
The resolution advocates disarmament and promoting political transition at the same time by requiring Syria to abandon its weapons stockpile and calling for an early convening of a Geneva II conference.
These were necessary conditions for the core goal of requiring the Syrian government and opposition groups to end violence as quickly as possible, analysts said.
It was necessary to convene Geneva II to develop a transitional roadmap to end comprehensively the crisis as soon as possible, analysts said.
COMPROMISE REACHED ON ENFORCEMENT
Despite the unanimously adopted resolution, it remains to be seen whether the Security Council can remain united and press for an end to the conflict, as Western countries and Russia have different interpretations of enforcement.
Russia has opposed putting the resolution under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which could trigger sanctions or military action.
While the United States, France and Britain had pushed for such action, in the end a compromise was reached.
The resolution stipulates that, in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer or use of chemical weapons by anyone in Syria, the UNSC will decide whether to impose measures under Chapter VII.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the "strong, enforceable, precedent-setting" resolution showed "actions have consequences."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the resolution imposed "legally binding and enforceable obligations on the Syrian regime."
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the resolution did not automatically allow sanctions to be imposed on Syria.
Analysts say the resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance. That will give Russia, one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, the means to stop any punishment from being imposed.
RETURN TO U.N. FRAMEWORK
The vote came after Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the violence.
Analysts say Western countries had blamed the Security Council for "no action" on the Syria issue and saw it as an excuse to take unilater action.
Western countries led by the United States intensified their campaign to launch military strikes against Syria after the Assad government forces allegedly used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack near Damascus.
However, in September, the U.S. and Russia reached agreement on a framework to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014 and Syria's joining of the Chemical Weapons Convention to come into force on Oct. 14.
The unanimous backing for the resolution by all 15 Security Council members shows the unity of the council and the important role it plays.
Analysts say China has played a constructive role in the process, as it has maintained contacts with the Syrian government and the opposition, promoted negotiations to end violence and made contributions to the formation of the resolution.
Although new problems may occur during the execution of the resolution, the fact remains, as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, the "historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time."
