Proposal would extend mandate of UN mission but falls short of US and European demands for sanctions against Assad regime

Russia has circulated a draft UN security council resolution that would extend the UN mission in Syria for three months but stops short of threatening the Assad regime with sanctions.

The deeply divided council must decide the future of the mission, known as UNSMIS, before 20 July when its initial 90-day mandate expires. International envoy Kofi Annan is due to brief the council on Wednesday on his bid to broker peace in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have killed more than 15,000 people since a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters began in March 2011, some western leaders say. Damascus says rebels have killed several thousand of its security forces.

The Russian draft resolution is unlikely to satisfy the American and European council members, who have called for a resolution under chapter seven of the UN Charter, which allows the council to authorise actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention – though US officials have said they want only sanctions, not military intervention.

Russia's deputy UN ambassador Alexander Pankin said a resolution under chapter seven would be "counterproductive" in what he described as a "delicate situation". Russia and China have previously vetoed UN resolutions designed to pressure Assad.

"There is no mention of chapter seven [in the Russian draft] and that's a matter of principle for us because we believe the special envoy is doing a commendable job," Pankin said. "[The draft] is a continuation of the mission bearing in mind the recommendations of the secretary general."

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has recommended UNSMIS be allowed to shift its emphasis from maintaining military observers – who suspended most of their monitoring activities on 16 June because of increasing violence – to finding a political solution and addressing issues like human rights.

The mission would keep its current mandate for up to 300 unarmed observers under this option but significantly fewer likely would be needed to support the new focus.

The Russian draft resolution, obtained by the Reuters news agency, does not specify a number but "stresses the need for UNSMIS to have a military observer capability to conduct effective verification and fact-finding tasks".

It also "calls upon all Syrian parties to guarantee the safety of UNSMIS personnel without prejudice to its freedom of movement and access, and stresses that the primary responsibility in this regard lies with the Syrian authorities".

The resolution strongly urges all parties to cease all violence and stresses "that it is for the Syrian people to find a political solution and that the Syrian parties must be prepared to put forward effective and mutually acceptable interlocutors" to work with Annan toward an agreement.

One security council diplomat, who did not want to be named, described the Russian draft as "basically a rollover".

"At the very least it needs to be combined with some real pressure on the parties," he said. "The council will need to address the Syria situation in a more comprehensive way."

Annan met with Assad in Damascus on Monday before traveling to Iran and Iraq for talks on the conflict. Annan said Assad had suggested easing the conflict on a step-by-step basis, starting with districts that have suffered the worst violence.

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