UN General Assembly adopts resolution which backs Arab League plan on Syria

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution supporting the political transition in Syria, plagued by an 11-month political crisis, and calls for the appointment of a UN special envoy to the Middle East country.

The draft resolution, which was drawn up by Saudi Arabia and introduced to the 193-member General Assembly by Egypt, was adopted with a vote of 137-12 with 17 abstentions.

It is similar to the draft vetoed at the UN Security Council on Feb. 4 by Russia and China, two permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council. The vetoed draft asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to hand over power to his deputy.

The General Assembly "fully supports" the AL's Jan. 22 decision "to facilitate a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system, in which citizens are equal regardless of their affiliations or ethnicities or beliefs, including through the commencement of a serious political dialogue" between the Syrian government and the opposition in accordance with an AL timetable, the resolution said.

Syria has flatly rejected the AL plan on its political transition, and foreign intervention in its "internal affairs."

The General Assembly requested "the secretary-general and all relevant UN bodies to provide support to the efforts of the League of Arab States both through good offices aimed at promoting a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis, including through the appointment of a special envoy (to Syria), as well as through technical and material assistance," the resolution said.