A senior official in the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says neither side is capable of winning Syria’s civil war and that peace talks should lead to a ceasefire. Speaking to The Guardian, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said: “Neither the armed opposition, nor the regime is capable of defeating the other side. This zero balance of forces will not change for a while.” Jamil’s comments come as the U.N. Security Council prepares to take up a measure that would enforce the U.S.-Russian agreement on destroying Syria’s chemical arsenal. Ahead of his visit to the United Nations for the annual General Assembly, Secretary of State John Kerry said the Security Council should pass a resolution next week.

Secretary of State John Kerry: “The Security Council must be prepared to act next week. It is vital for the international community to stand up and speak out in the strongest possible terms about the importance of enforceable action to rid the world of Syria’s chemical weapons. So, I would say to the community of nations: Time is short. Let’s not spend time debating what we already know. Instead, we have to recognize that the world is watching to see whether we can avert military action and achieve through peaceful means even more than what those military strikes promised.”

At the United Nations, Kerry is expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi over the convening of a possible peace conference. The United States and Russia remain at odds over the Obama administration’s refusal to allow Iran’s involvement.