UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Saba) -- Russia on Tuesday introduced in the Security Council a draft resolution which would call on the Secretary-General to prepare a report within three months outlining various options of stronger international legal system to ensure no impunity for pirates operating off the Somali coast, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

"The Security Council has been engaged actively in the matter of piracy off the coast of Somalia for the past 18 months. We think that so far the results are not entirely satisfactory. The problem continues to be there and in some respect is growing. We feel that one of the weak links in the entire set up and with all the energy that is being expanded by the international community is the legal process which would allow us to be sure that there is no impunity once pirates are caught," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters following a council meeting on Iraq.

Churkin said if the situation on the ground in Somalia improves, such as building the legal system or creating coast guard instruments, "that would help." But, he noted, the piracy industry is growing and therefore the international community must be able to deal with this challenge and an international mechanism will help.

Commenting to the press about the Russian initiative, Council President Yukio Takasu of Japan said the initial reaction is a "very positive" one.

Some members, he added, believe, however, that one cannot separate the issue of piracy from the whole situation on the ground in Somalia.

Saba