Compromise on Syria ceasefire resolution eluding UNSC

After a day of hectic negotiations and three delays, the 10 elected members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) failed to get its five permanent members to compromise on a resolution for a 30-day ceasefire in war-torn Syria and to allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged areas.

Council President for the month, Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, on Friday night said they would try again to have a vote on the resolution on Saturday.

ussia, which has veto powers, proposed amendments to the draft resolution introduced by Kuwait and Sweden when it was first scheduled for a vote on Thursday.

Sweden's Permanent Representative Olof Skoog hinted that the sticking point was when the ceasefire would start.I think we all agree that there needs to be a ceasefire that has to be urgent immediately," he told reporters. "There are still some discussions on exactly how to define that." The draft resolution wanted the ceasefire to start 72 hours after it was passed.But Russia may want to give Syria more time complete its attacks on East Ghouta, one of the last bastions of the opposition.

The relentless aerial bombing of the Damascus suburb precipitated the latest initiative in the Council to bring about a temporary truce so humanitarian relief can be sent there and other areas and medical evacuations carried out. The 10 elected members known as E10 have been trying to get Russia and the western countries -- Britain, France and the US -- to compromise.