Russia says it will seek Syria compromise Demonstrators protest against President Bashar Assad in Kafr nobil Syria, Feb. 15, 2012. DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Russia said it's willing to seek a compromise with U.N. member states to "resolve the Syrian crisis." RIA Novosti, which reported the comment, which came a day after the U.N. condemned the Syrian government, did not elaborate on the elements of a possible compromise. "We are ready to seek a compromise formula to resolve the Syrian crisis on the basis of the U.N.," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Friday, referring to the U.N. resolution approved Thursday. But the interests of the Syrian people, peace and security in the whole region must be paramount. Russia -- along with China, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and other countries -- voted against the non-binding U.N. General Assembly resolution, criticizing it as unwarranted interference in Syria's internal politics. The resolution condemned the violent crackdown on the nearly yearlong uprising by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The resolution, approved 137-12 with 17 abstentions, called for Assad's resignation under an Arab League proposal. Lukashevich said the resolution was nearly identical to a draft U.N. Security Council resolution Russia and China had vetoed Feb. 4. Syria tried to block the vote on the latest resolution and severely criticized its sponsors, including the Arab League, which suspended Syria's participation in November 2011 because of the crackdown. Syria followed the U.N. rebuke by pounding the city of Homs for a 14th day Friday as China sent an envoy to Damascus and Venezuela shipped oil to the regime, witnesses said. Rockets and tank shells pummeled Homs' embattled Baba Amr neighborhood, activists said. No casualties were immediately reported but at least 22 people were killed in the flashpoint cities of Hama and Daraa Thursday, activist groups said. Assad's regime arrested a prominent activist journalist Thursday along with a well-known blogger and more than a dozen other journalists and activists, opposition groups said. The U.N. resolution calls for Assad to give up power to a vice president, for opposition and government representatives to negotiate, and for Syria to form a new government. Despite voting against the resolution, China Thursday called on Damascus "to seriously heed the people's legitimate desire for reform and development" and said Beijing hoped "the Syrian issue will be resolved within the framework of the league through political and peaceful means."