UNITED NATIONS: Syria said Thursday it can’t pay its U.N. dues because American banks won’t allow the country to open an account and urged the United States to find a quick solution.

Syria’s U.N. Ambas- sador Bashar Ja’afari told the General Assembly’s budget committee that his country, which is a founding member of the United Nations, has paid its dues in full and on time since 1945.

He said that at the beginning of 2011, a U.S. bank closed the accounts of a number of U.N. missions, including Syria’s. After much difficulty, he said, Syria opened an account at another bank in Washington, but that was unexpectedly closed and the government has not been able to find a new bank.

The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 26-May-2012