The UN Security Council continued its consultations on Friday afternoon over the escalating conflict in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Earlier in the day, the 15-member body, at the request of Russia, held an emergency session that continued into the wee hours of Friday morning, but failed to reach an agreement on a Russia-drafted statement.
The draft expressed "concern at the escalation of violence" and called on "the parties to cease bloodshed without delay and renounce the use of force."
Diplomats said the council failed to adopt the statement because some council members, including the United States, opposed the part calling on the parties to "renounce the use of force."
After a formal meeting in the afternoon, council members resumed closed door consultations to discuss the wording of a statement that would be acceptable to everyone.
Russia said earlier in the day that its tanks and troops have entered the region of South Ossetia and are approaching regional capital Tskhinvali. More than 10 of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia have been killed amid a Georgian offensive, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The conflict between Georgia and its rebel region South Ossetia worsened on Aug. 1-2, when South Ossetian authorities accused Georgian forces of shelling Tskhinvali. Six people dead and 15 injured in the shelling.
South Ossetia, along with another breakaway republic Abkhazia, broke away from Georgia in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But their self-proclaimed independence has not been internationally recognized.
The United States pledged to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, stressing "no state should be taking actions that would violate that."
Source:Xinhua
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