The UN Security Council is likely to vote on a draft resolution on ridding Syria of chemical weapons after the US and Russia agreed on the text.

The resolution will demand the elimination of chemical arms held by the Syrian government. However, it is not expected to authorise military action in case president Bashar al-Assad does not comply.


According to diplomats, the vote could take place at the 15-member Security Council later on Friday.


The binding resolution is seen as a vital move in ending the two-and-a-half-year-long Syrian conflict as China and Russia had in the past vetoed three western-backed resolutions in order to support Assad.


Washington and Russia have been locking horns over the wording of the draft - chapter VII of the UN charter - which would authorise the use of force against Assad.


The proposed draft attempts to make the people behind the chemical weapon attack in Syria accountable, but it does not say that they should be tried in the International Criminal Court, unlike earlier drafts, according to reports.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner