United Nations (CNN) -- Arab and Western diplomats spoke in support Tuesday of a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, while representatives from Russia and China slammed it as meddlesome. More effective than the resolution, Russia and China said, would be the fostering of dialogue within the country. "The council cannot impose the parameters for an internal political settlement," said Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations. "We are convinced that at a time of intense internal political crisis, the role of the international community should not be one of exacerbating conflict, nor meddling by use of economic sanctions or military force."
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NEW: British Foreign Secretary William Hague: "This is not the West telling Syria what to do"
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7,100 people have died since the start of the uprising, opposition group says
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Russia, China say dialogue should occur inside Syria
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"Hope of Syrian people" in your hands, Qatari prime minister tells U.N. Security Council
@placeholder's prime minister said "the hope of the Syrian people is in your hands."
The @placeholder regime is a major weapons client for Russia.