Proposals mooted for immediate sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad's government have been dropped from a new draft UN resolution on Syria.
The document, championed by Britain, France, Germany and Portugal and supported by the US last month, has been scaled-back in the hope of securing the agreement of China and Russia.
Last month the EU proposed blocking the delivery of banknotes to Damascus and imposing travel bans on officials linked to the regime. However, China and Russia have opposed sanctions and intervention in Syria at the UN, and threaten to veto any such proposals against Assad's regime.
The new draft resolution still "demands an immediate end to all violence", but will now only threaten sanctions "in the event that Syria has not complied with this resolution, to adopt targeted measures, including sanctions". A vote on the draft is expected in the next week.
The push for a resolution comes against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation in Syria. The UN high commissioner for human rights said last week that more than 2,700 people have been killed since Syria's violent crackdown on dissent began.
On Wednesday, Alistair Burt, Minister for the Middle East expressed his deep concern at the government's military campaign against its citizens in the city of Rastan:
“Syrian troops, firing machine-guns and backed by helicopters and tanks, have been besieging that city. If ever there was a stark reminder that the UN must take further action, this is it”.
Human rights activist group, Avaaz, echoed this frustration. Wissam Tarif, one of their campaigners, explains his suspicions that this draft "will not change anything for Syrian citizens. The EU has climbed down to get a consensus with Russia, who are blocking an arms embargo as they are still selling weapons to the Syrian regime”.