Syria unrest:Clinton held talks with Lavrov ahead of UNSC vote

 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov ahead of the UNSC meet on the contentious issue of the Syria unrest .

The talks were held after Moscow rejected a fresh UNSC bid to seek an end to the political crisis under the Bashar al-Assad regime amid reports of more than 200 people killed by shelling in Homs.

 Voicing its opposition to the use of force to resolve the crisis in Syria, India asked all sides to cooperate with the Arab League and start a political process that should respect Damascus' sovereignty.

 "We are firmly of the view that all sides need to cooperate with the League of Arab States. A political process must begin without any further delay," Indian Ambassador to he UN Hardeep Singh Puri said in his remarks during a special session of Security Council at the UN headquarters here.

 "The process should be led by the Syrians and should respect Syria's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,"Puri said at the meeting that was attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her counterparts from Britain,France, Germany and Morocco.
 

Russia had objected to earlier versions of the text and it is not clear how it will vote, or if it will abstain.

The draft resolution calls on President Bashar al-Assad to hand power to a deputy to oversee a transition.  Officials said Clinton had "constructive" talks with Lavrov, and the two leaders agreed that the officials of the two countries at the UN headquarters in New York would continue to consult on the resolution in Syria.

 "I can confirm she spoke with her Russian counterpart,Foreign Minister Lavrov, earlier this morning. They did agree that their teams in New York would continue to consult on this draft resolution," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference.

 Later, a Senior State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity characterised the telephonic talks between the Clinton and Lavrov as constructive.   

  Clinton, who is on her way to Munich to attend a security conference would be meeting her Russian counterpart, officials
said.

"I've concluded that Syria will remain a topic regardless of what happens today. I don't know if you want to add anything," a senior State Department official said. Russia, a stanch ally of Assad rejected a latest draft of UNSC resolution that did not explicitly call on the Syrian President to step down or mention an arms embargo or sanctions, but said it "fully supports" an Arab League plan to facilitate a democratic transition.

 Russia has maintained that it was against any external interference in Syria.