United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council unanimously passed a landmark resolution Friday ordering the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and condemning a murderous poison gas attack in Damascus.
The major powers overcame a prolonged deadlock to approve the council's first resolution on the Syrian conflict, which the UN says has left more than 100,000 dead in 30 months.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon called the "historic" resolution "the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time."
Resolution 2118, the result of bruising negotiations between the United States and Russia, gives international binding force to a plan drawn up by the pair to eliminate President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arms.
There are no immediate sanctions over a chemical weapons attack confirmed by the UN. But it allows for a new vote on possible measures if the Russia-US plan is breached.
US President Barack Obama hailed the resolution as a "potentially huge victory for the international community." He said before the vote that there would be "consequences" for any failure by Assad to keep a promise to follow the plan.
