Diplomat: Russia threatens to veto UN-Syria draft

Russia told the UN Security Council on Thursday it would veto a disputed draft resolution backing an Arab League plan to end the violence in Syria if it were put to a vote as early as Friday, a Western diplomat said.

The most controversial section of the text is a phrase saying the council "fully supports" the Arab plan, which among other things calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside. Moscow says that amounts to "regime change." (Reuters)