Vitaly Churkin

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Several U.N. Security Council members said they were close to a deal on Thursday on the wording of a draft resolution backing an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, but it was unclear if Russia would agree to it. Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon told reporters that the 15-nation council was "two words away" from an agreement on an amended version of a European-Arab draft resolution circulated to the council...Read Full Story

UNITED NATIONS ( Reuters ) - The U.N. Security Council agreed on Friday to France's request for a briefing on Syria's rights crackdown from the U.N. human rights chief, overcoming resistance from Russia , China and Brazil , Western envoys said. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin , president of the Security Council this month, said Navi Pillay 's closed-door briefing would probably take place on Monday. He dismissed suggestions from Western envoys that Russia had opposed the briefing...Read Full Story

UNITED NATIONS ( Reuters ) - European U.N. Security Council members softened a draft resolution condemning Syria's six-month crackdown on anti-government protests but Russia said on Thursday that it could not support the new text. The four European members of the council had hoped to put the draft resolution to a vote on Friday. The United States is expected to support it, envoys said, despite its disappointment about compromises made in an attempt to woo Russia, China , Brazil , India and...Read Full Story

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A top U.N. official warned the Security Council on Thursday that ethnic tensions in Kyrgyzstan continue, along with fears that there could be another wave of violence in the strategic Central Asian state. As expected, the 15-nation Security Council took no action. But diplomats said the council's decision to discuss the ethnic bloodshed in Kyrgyzstan that has killed hundreds and sparked a wave of refugees reflected the growing international concern. At the start of...Read Full Story

  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the five veto-wielding members had agreed on a "strong" draft resolution. The measures foresee cargo ship inspections and new banking controls. They come despite a recent deal in which Iran agreed to send low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for enriched fuel for a research reactor. But Mrs Clinton suggested Iran had been trying to deflect pressure. For US officials the core issue was that Iran intended to continue...Read Full Story

NEW YORK ( Reuters ) - Russia is seriously concerned that there could be a further escalation on the Korean peninsula , where North and South Korea are exchanging threats, Moscow 's envoy to the United Nations said on Saturday. "We are seriously concerned about possible further escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula," Vitaly Churkin told reporters at the Russian U.N. mission in New York, adding that the situation "directly affects the national security interests of the Russian...Read Full Story

South Korean troops will conduct firing drills Monday from a border island shelled by a North Korean artillery barrage last month, despite Pyongyang 's threat to retaliate again, the South's military said. Marines will conduct the one-day artillery drills on Yeonpyeong Island later Monday and the exact timing will be determined by weather conditions, an officer at the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korea's military will "immediately and sternly" deal with any possible provocation by North...Read Full Story

The U.N. Security Council convened a special meeting this weekend to address mounting unrest on the Korean peninsu la. At the request of Russia, council members staged negotiations aimed at diffusing tensions between North and South Korea. Hostility between the two countries came to a head last month when North Korean forces fired more than 100 artillery rounds at the small South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. Four people – including two soldiers – were killed in the attack. The South...Read Full Story

Seven key nations neared agreement Tuesday on a new U.N. resolution that would toughen sanctions against North Korea for defying the Security Council and conducting a second nuclear test, but diplomats said Russia still had problems with the text. Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding Security Council nations — the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France — and the two countries most closely affected by the test, Japan and South Korea, had hoped to announce agreement on the text after a two...Read Full Story

Russia has invited Security Council ministers to a meeting next week to give "new impetus" to the Middle East peace process. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said Monday that "the meeting will reaffirm the council's involvement in the search for a Middle East settlement." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will preside at the May 11 meeting, and Churkin said some ministers already have accepted. The only speakers will be representatives...Read Full Story