At
UN,
Kosovo Meeting
Still August
24, Yemen
& Sudan on
Tap, Syria
in Shadows
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 2, updated
-- The August
program of
work of the UN
Security
Council is
light,
according to a
draft Inner
City Press
obtained from
a member state
on Monday
morning. At
least as of
August 2, the
briefing on
Kosovo has not
been moved
forward. It
remains listed
for
August 24,
despite the
tensions on
the border
with Serbia.
(Update:
Hardeep
Singh Puri
later at his
briefing
said that
Serbia itself
asked for
further delay,
to August 29,
to accommodate
the schedule
of its foreign
minister, Vuk
Jeremic.)
There
is a Sudan
consultation
on August 11,
and two
"Department of
Political
Affairs"
briefings on
August 9 and
23, at least
one of which
sources say
will be about
Yemen.
(Update:
Hardeep Singh
Puri later at
his briefing
said it's
August 9 that
is about
Yemen.)
The
Indian
presidency's
thematic
debate is on
August 26,
about UN
peacekeeping
operations.
The Middle
East debate is
the day before
on August 25.
Libya is the
topic on
August 30. And
Syria? Well,
who knows.
Until
now it has
depended on
actions in
Libya. Click here for Inner
City
Press' Syria
story of
Monday morning.
* * *
At
UN
on Syria,
Brazil
"Elements"
Based on IBSA
Considered,
Vehicle
Deferred
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 2 -- As
the Syria
"drafting
session" of
the
UN Security
Council took a
break late
Tuesday
morning,
various
Council
members said
there's an
attempt to
bridge the
European's
draft
resolution and
a
set of
"elements" put
forward by
Brazil,
also on behalf
of India and
South Africa.
South
African
Permanent
Representative
Baso Sangqu
told Inner
City Press
that the
form or format
is not yet set
-- resolution
or statement
-- but that
the Brazil
elements
represent
IBSA. This was
clarified: it
is a
Brazilian
proposal based
on IBSA's
position.
The
danger, a
well placed
IBSA source
told Inner
City Press, is
that even if
the
sides agree on
substance,
they have not
and may well
not agree on
the
"vehicle" -
that is, if
it's a
resolution.
Amb.
Viotti of
Brazil, with
Hardeep of
India and
Churkin:
elements not
shown
Meanwhile
a
western
spokesman
tried to tell
the press to
make sure to
confront
Russian
Permanent
Representative
Vitaly Churkin
with the
reported
comments of
his foreign
minister
Lavrov, that
Russia is not
necessarily
opposed to a
Council
resolution.
One
assumes that
Churkin, even
just back from
a trip to
Tibet and
Mongolia, is
well in
touch and in
synch with his
capital. But
we will ask.
Watch this
site.
, 
in