“The situation is extremely bad and we need action from the Council,” Brahimi told reporters at UN Headquarters following a closed-door session with the Council.

“The opposition and the government have got to accept to come to negotiations, and both sides have got to accept that these negotiations are necessary,” Brahimi added.

Latest figures showing 6.8 million people in need, 4.25 million people internally displaced and an additional 1.3 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries from a conflict that has killed over 70,000 people since opposition forces sought to oust President Bashar Al-Assad in 2011.

Brahimi told journalists that he tried to aid the creation of a ‘Syria Plan’ through discussions with both sides in Syria and through discussions with the 15-member Security Council, particularly Russia and the United States.

“With the Syrians, I got nowhere. With the Security Council, with the Americans and the Russians we made some progress, but it was far too weak,” said Brahimi.

“I am very happy that the Americans and the Russians are talking to one another. I’m very happy that from the discussions we just heard, the Security Council is very now aware that this is an extremely serious problem. As a matter of fact, the most serious crisis,” he continued.

“If they really believe that and they are in charge of looking at the peace and security there is no time for them to lose,” Brahimi stressed.

The Security Council heard from top United Nations officials, including Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos who said that humanitarian organizations are facing enormous and dramatically growing constraints in aiding millions of Syrians overwhelmed by the ‘human catastrophe’ that the war-torn country has become.

In response to questions from journalists yesterday afternoon, Brahimi also denied rumours that he planned to resign. “Every day I wake up, I think I should resign, but I haven’t so far,” he said.

The “Friends of Syria” conference where more than a hundred government delegates are to attend including Greece, US, Britain, France and Gulf countries will meet in the Moroccan city of Marrakech as rebels intensify their push on Damascus.

A draft declaration at the meeting states that the members of the Friends of the Syrian People bloc were prepared to recognise the opposition coalition as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people”. It also called on President Asad to “stand aside” in order to allow “a sustainable political transition” process.

France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf states have already granted the oppositon formal recognition. The European Union, in a meeting on Monday, moved a step closer towards recognition. The EU currently recognises the coalition as “legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people,” which falls short of recognising it outright as a potential successor government.

Greek foreign minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos is also set to attend the conference according to an announcement by the ministry of foreign affairs. Mr. Avramopoulos in a recent statement reiterated Greece’s firm stance in favor of the pursuit of a political solution and the opening of a dialogue that will enable the Syrian people to decide on their future. He stressed the need for an immediate stop to the hostilities and the importance of protecting the rights and security of all the Syrian communities, making express reference to Syria’s Christian population and Greek Orthodox community, in light of the latter’s recent loss of their spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, a day before the conference in Morocco, Barack Obama, the US president, announced that his government would be recognising the coalition as Syria’s “legitimate representative” mounting pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview on ABC news Obama announced that, “We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime.”

It’s a big step,” Obama added.

His announcement stopped short of authorising the US to supply weapons to the opposition, however.

“The window for a solution is narrowing and all should be on the alert to prevent the crisis from sliding into a civil war,” the king told daily Al-Hayat.

The comes amid a report that Jordan’s trade deficit widened 34.2 percent to 3.24 billion dinars ($4.56 bln) in the first quarter of this year against the same period in 2011, due to a higher bill for imported Saudi oil and other petroleum products, official data showed on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

According to the agency, data show that Jordan’s crude oil and petroleum products import bill in the first quarter of the year surged 63.7% compared to the same period last year to 1.81 billion dinars ($2.56 billion).Energy imports were almost 35.8% of total imports, the data showed.

Due to disruptions in cheap Egyptian oil, previously covered nearly 80% of Jordan’s electricity generation, the authorities have been forced to import more expensive fuel to run power plants.

The country’s Jordanian MPs recently voted for its suspension of its civilian nuclear prgramme amid fears that it would worsen the debt situation.

Jordan is faced with a trade and budget deficit for years which has deteriorated during the last year due to political turmoil in neighbouring Syria, as it constitutes one of its biggest trade partners.

Reports quoting government and UN officials in Amman said on Tuesday Jordan is ending its open door policy for Syrians amid rising false asylum claims, according to Arabian Gazette. 

Alarmed by increasing violence in Syria, Jordanian border authorities have placed restrictions on Syrian refugees arriving through its airports and at the border shared with the restive city of Deraa.