WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- It will likely be some time before members of the U.N. Security Council agree on a formal resolution condemning the violence in Syria, Washington said.
U.N. estimates put the death toll in Syria at more than 2,000, including hundreds allegedly killed at the hands of Syrian security forces during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Most members of the international community have condemned Syrian President Bashar Assad for the bloody crackdown, though, apart from a general statement of disdain from the United Nations and economic sanctions, there's be no formal action from the U.N. Security Council.
Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said in statements to reporters during her regular news briefing a resolution was "a matter of diplomatic priority over the coming days and weeks."
"It's obviously not going to be done in the next couple of days," she said.
Opponents of a resolution say Assad should have time to carry out a series of pledged reforms, though patience is running out as the bloodshed continues.
Meanwhile, The Cable, a blog published by news magazine Foreign Policy, points to a video circulating that depicts Robert Ford, U.S. envoy to Damascus, getting mobbed by pro-Assad supporters in Damascus last week.
Ford was rushed by his security detail to his car after a demonstrator tried to wrap the envoy in a poster depicting the face of the Syrian president.
