Pressure grows on Russia as Syria violence continues

Russia faces mounting pressure to intervene in the spiralling Syria crisis today, as a top British diplomat urged Moscow to "get off the fence" or see a bloody civil war erupt and spread to other nations.

Mark Lyall Grant, UK ambassador to the United Nations, warned that unless Russia wields its influence "we are coming to the end of the shelf life of the peace plan with all the horrible alternatives that that means".