A UN Security Council resolution on the Syria reconciliation process should be agreed on later on Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennadiy Gatilov told reporters.
"Yes, it will be," Gatilov said when asked if a resolution will be reached on Friday.
Drafted by the five permanent members of the Security Council, the resolution is expected to adopt the draft later on Friday in hopes of bringing an end to Syria's five-year civil war. It includes preperations for a ceasefire monitoring mechanism that would come into effect "as soon as the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition have begun initial steps towards a political transition under UN auspices," according to Reuters.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to report on ceasefire monitoring and reporting mechanisms within 1 month.
The resolution also contains previously agreed upon terms for a transitional government, with elections to be held under UN supervision, according to Reuters.
Talks with the Syrian opposition will be held in early January, and the draft also "demands that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilians and civilian objects," and "stresses that the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria."
"There is a common wish that the meeting should take place sometime in early January," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, according to RIA Novosti. "At least, such a dateline was generally suggested."
It also calls on all parties to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power is currently phoning the remaining members of the 15-nation body to discuss the details, according to Reuters. A final vote is scheduled for 4 PM, local time.
Lavrov said he expects the draft to respect the Syrian peoples' right to decide the future of their country.
"Syrian people must decide the fate of Syria. This is the only option and it, by the way, is enshrined in the documents [prepared] by the International Syria Support Group," he said. "I hope it will be backed by the UNSC, as well."
There had been doubt earlier that an agreement would be reached.
"I'm not sure it's going to happen because there are some unfortunately deliberate, or not deliberate, attempts to undercut the Vienna documents and we don't want to see that," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters on Thursday.
Talks held in Riyadh between Syrian opposition groups were also a cause for concern, with some questioning the legitimacy of the meeting and raising the possibility that more radical elements of the opposition may have infiltrated the discussions.
