Russia seeks extension of UN mission

07/11/12: Al Jazeera reports Russia has circulated among United Nations Security Council members a draft resolution to extend a UN mission in Syria for three months.  The deeply divided council must decide the future of the mission before July 20, when its initial ninety-day mandate expires.  The Russian proposal, revealed on Wednesday, seeks more time for the mission so it can shift from monitoring a non-existent truce to securing a political solution to the conflict.  International envoy Kofi Annan is due to brief the council later on Wednesday about his efforts to broker peace.  The Russian draft resolution is unlikely to satisfy the United States and European council members, who have called for a resolution that could authorize economic or diplomatic sanctions, if not military intervention.