Russia seeks U.N. OK of Syria peace plan

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VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council will be asked to endorse a Syria peace plan later this month that Russia brokered in Geneva, a top Russian official said Saturday.

At a June 30 meeting in the Swiss city, world powers agreed that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the violence.

The Security Council will be asked to approve the "communique" that came out of that meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Vladivostok.

Lavrov didn't give details of the plan,but said its implementation didn't necessarily mean Syrian President Bashar Assad would have to step down.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assad wouldn't be part of the transitional government.

Russia and China have twice vetoed U.N. resolutions critical of Syria, claiming the actions favored the rebels. They deny they support Assad.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Lavrov said U.S. sanctions on Syria and Iran "are directly affecting the interests of Russian business, particularly the banks."

He said Russia didn't want sanctions and supported a proposed conference of Syrian opposition groups later this month.