Obama presses for tough UN resolution on Syria

US President Barack Obama 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 destabilisation 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 (UN) General Assembly Tuesday morning, Xinhua reported.

He urged UN 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."

"The Syrian government took a first step by giving an accounting of its stockpiles. Now, there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments. And there must be consequences if they fail to do so," Obama said.

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 a binding UN resolution on Syria under Chapter VII to ensure the compliance of Damascus.

The US and Russia reached a deal this month to place Syria's chemical weapons under international control before destroying them.