NEW YORK: The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution backing an Arab League plan that calls for Syria’s president to step down and strongly condemns human rights violations by his regime. The vote in the 193-member world body was 137-12 with 17 abstentions.

According to the foreign media reports, Russia and China, who vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council, voted against the resolution.

"Today, the U.N. General Assembly sent a clear message of the people of Syria: the world is with you," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said in a statement. Assad "has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come."

Earlier on Thursday, senior Russian diplomat Gennady Gatilov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that the draft is very close to the U.N. Security Council resolution that Russia and China vetoed on Feb. 4.

At the time, Russia had expressed concerns about the draft text, saying it feared the resolution would lead to the kind of military intervention and regime change seen in Libya after last year’s council action intended to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi.