UNSC still unaware of deal to assist civilians in Homs

While the UN Security Council members said they were not aware of the deal reportedly reached earlier Thursday between the United Nations and Syria to allow relief into besieged Homs, a UN official said a confirmation is likely soon. "Nothing yet," US Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters when asked about the deal. "Not that I am aware of," British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant also told reporters. On the humanitarian draft resolution the UK is proposing on the general humanitarian situation in Syria, he said "we are still discussing with other colleagues and we expect to move forward shortly." A UN official told KUNA he cannot confirm the deal yet, as the two sides are still working on the fine details, adding that a confirmation is expected to be issued within the hour. The ambassadors were on their way to the Council to hear a briefing on Syria's compliance with resolution 2118 on chemical weapons and whether the June 30 deadline to strip Syria of those weapons is still feasible in light of the constant delays. On this subject, Lyall Grant said, adding: "We feel that the time for excuses has run out. Everything is in place and there needs to be proper arrangements for accelerating the process of getting the chemical weapons out of Syria."