Obama urges tough UN resolution on Syria

UNITED NATIONS -- US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a resolution that will "mandate consequences for Syria" if the country fails to hand over its chemical weapons.

"The crisis in Syria and the destabilization of the region goes to the heart of broader challenges that the international community must now confront," said Obama in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday morning.

He urged U.N. Security Council members to approve a resolution that would "mandate consequences for Syria if it fails to live up to the plan of turning its chemical weapons stockpiles over to the international community."

Last week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that his country wouldn't accept any UN resolution adopted under the Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which paves the way to military action in some cases.

The Russian stance came as the Western powers were mulling over binding a UN resolution on Syria to Chapter VII to insure the compliance of Damascus.

Liu Jieyi, Chinese ambassador to UN, has condemned any use of chemical weapons, calling on the international community to beef up their efforts for a political solution to the Syria crisis.

"China firmly opposes and strongly condemns any use of chemical weapons," he said last week, urging relevant parties to immediately stop the violence and bloodshed in Syria.