UN Security Council to vote Saturday on Syria cease-fire

Demonstrators attend the Civil March for Aleppo in Berlin, Monday. With the march they demand help for the people of Aleppo and other cities in Syria. (Source: AP)

The UN Security Council has scheduled a vote Saturday morning on a Russian resolution that would endorse the cease-fire agreement in Syria and reiterate support for a roadmap to peace that starts with a transitional government.

The draft resolution also calls for ‘rapid, safe and unhindered’ access to deliver humanitarian aid throughout the country. And it looks forward to a meeting in late January between the Syrian government and opposition in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana “as an important part of the Syrian-led political process facilitated by the United Nations.”

Russia and Turkey, who brokered the cease-fire agreement, circulated the text and the draft resolution to Security Council members Thursday night. After closed discussions in the council Friday morning, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin circulated a revised text, called for a vote on Saturday, and urged council members to support it.