UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – UN Security Council ambassadors on Wednesday agreed on a text to “condemn” the Syrian government’s crackdown on protests, diplomats said.

The text, which was expected to be adopted as a council statement later Wednesday, would “condemn widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities,” according to a copy obtained by AFP.

The statement would drop references to a UN Human Rights Council investigation into the government clampdown since March in which more than 1,400 people are believed to have been killed.

The text calls “on the Syrian authorities to fully respect human rights and to comply with their obligations under applicable international law. Those responsible for the violence should be held accountable.”

The council would also “note” President Bashar al-Assad’s reform promises and “regret the lack of progress in implementation, and call upon the Syrian government to implement their commitments.”

Following the new changes, Russia lifted its objections. Russia’s UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, called the new version “balanced.”

The 15-nation Security Council has not passed a resolution or agreed a statement on Syria since protests against Assad started on March 15.

Russia, China and a group of other nations had blocked council action, saying it could lead to a Libya-style military intervention by the West.