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At UN, Russia Puts A Draft in Blue, Araud Threatens Saturday, Syria Speaks of Mood

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 13 -- Russia has put its own shorter resolution "into blue" in response to the longer draft introduced yesterday, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the press midday on Friday. Churkin said now "both are on the table" and negotiations would continue at 3 pm.

  Moments later, French Ambassador Gerard Araud countered that the plan was to go through the longer draft "paragraph by paragraph" in the afternoon and that "if there is no agreement," the rules specify a 24 hour wait before a vote, "which would mean your Saturday is lost."

  After Araud left, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari stopped to say that any resolution, even for the advance monitors, requires the consent of the Syrian government, a report by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and an agreement on the "terms of reference of the protocol" which Joint Envoy Kofi Annan's representative Mood is still negotiating.

  Nothing is as easy as it seems.
 
  Meanwhile in the morning the Security Council agreed on "elements to the press" on the failed North Korean rocket launch...