Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general who now serves as the U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, briefed the U.N. Security Council on the crisis Wednesday.

"The council is now discussing what the next step should be and what action they should take," Annan said. "We should hear something from them in the next few days."

Britain introduced a new resolution Wednesday threatening "immediate measures" if the Syrian government doesn't comply with elements of Annan's six-point peace plan, introduced in March.

Russia and China -- which are permanent Security Council members, along with Britain -- oppose putting such pressure on the al-Assad regime. Russia put forward its own draft Wednesday urging all parties to cease violence and calling for an extension of the U.N. observer mission in Syria for three months.

Annan acknowledged that efforts to stop the carnage in Syria have so far failed. He said he is urging all the governments to work together in pursuit of common interests.

"If we can speak with one voice, that voice is much more powerful," he said. "We all want to protect the Syrian people, we all want to see an end to the violence, we all want to make sure ... the conflict doesn't spread to the region."

His briefing came a week before the council must decide what to do with 300 U.N. observers who have been unable to do their work because of the violence.

Russia and China have previously vetoed U.N. Security Council draft resolutions that would have formally condemned the Syrian regime. Many other nations said such resolutions could have pushed al-Assad to stop the bloody, sustained crackdown on dissidents seeking his ouster.

Speaking ahead of Annan's Security Council briefing, Germany's U.N. ambassador, Peter Wittig, told reporters that it was "a mistake" to focus on the question of the monitors in isolation.

"We want compliance with the decisions of the Security Council and we want to see the stop of (the use of) heavy weapons," he said.