Moscow warns of Syria veto

UNITED NATIONS - Russia shot down suggestions from some United Nations Security Council members on a draft resolution of an imminent deal aimed at stopping Syria's upheaval, warning it would veto the current text if it were put to a vote on Friday.

Pakistan's UN envoy said on Thursday that the council was "two words away" from an agreement, and the council chairman from Togo said a consensus was near on an amended version of a draft backing an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told a closed-door session of the world body that Moscow would veto the draft if it were submitted on Friday with a phrase saying the council "fully supports" the plan, several Western diplomats told Reuters.