U.S. sees Arab League's Syria plan going to U.N. soon

CAIRO (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department's top human rights official said Thursday that Washington was keen to work with the Arab League to end bloodshed in Syria and added that a new Arab initiative could go before the U.N. Security Council soon.

The Arab League agreed Sunday a new proposal that envisages Syrian President Bashar al-Assad handing power to a deputy and setting up a unity government as a prelude to early parliamentary and presidential elections.

"We are very mindful and appreciative of the attention that the Syria issue has gotten from the Arab League in recent weeks," Michael Posner told reporters in Cairo.

"We are desirous of working in partnership with them and there is certainly a hope and expectation that we can proceed to the Security Council soon for the issue to be raised."

France and Britain are working with Qatar and other Arab delegations on a new draft resolution supporting the Arab League plan, according to several U.N. diplomats. However, Syria has rejected the Arab initiative, while Russia has said it remained opposed to sanctions and to military intervention.

Thursday Moscow said it would continue to promote its own draft resolution at the United Nations, suggesting that a Western-Arab draft could struggle to gain support at the Security Council from veto-wielding Russia.

Posner said that senior U.S. diplomat Jeff Feltman had been in Moscow in recent days to discuss possible next steps on Syria.

"They obviously have had a different view," Posner said. "I would very much hope, given the tragedy in Syria ... that the international community can come together to take the next steps that will allow a return to a more peaceful situation and that Assad, as we've said repeatedly, must go."

The Security Council could vote as early as next week on the Western-Arab draft, council diplomats said.

(Reporting by Tom Perry, Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Ben Harding)