India to Support UN Resolutions Against Syria

India has announced that it will vote in favor of a United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria.

Security Council talks regarding a resolution aimed at ending the ongoing violence in Syria began earlier this week, and a vote is expected to occur within the coming days, the Times of India reported.

U.N. diplomats confirmed that a draft agreement has been sent to the governments of the Security Council nations for review, according to the New York Times.

India's announcement comes after Western and Arab League members of the Security Council abandoned their attempts to incorporate a call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede power to his second-in-command. The new version is reported to contain no such measures.

India's government has been reluctant to take a hard stance against Syria in the past, and has long been opposed to any sort of international intervention in the country.

Hardeep Singh Puri, India's permanent representative to the U.N., expressed India's prior reservations about enforcing substantiial international measures against Syria in an address on Tuesday.

The Syrian people demand and deserve empowerment so that a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political solution can be found in an atmosphere free of violence and bloodshed, he said.

Some argue that India could no longer afford to appear soft towards the Syrian regime after Syrian security forces killed scores of civilians around the troubled nation in just this week. At least 6,000 Syrians --including children -- have died since the revolt erupted last year.

Although the new resolution will not call for a regime change in Syria, it will still support Arab League efforts in the country, the Times of India reported.

India views Syria as a historical ally and aligns itself with the Middle Eastern nation based on historic and civilizational ties and upholds that the two nations share similar perceptions on many international and regional issues, according to a 2011 report published by India's Foreign Ministry. India and Syria's relations are also based on substantial trade interests.

Indeed, the first Christian church in india was founded by the Syrian Orthodox church.