Members of the United Nations Security Council have reportedly inched closer to the details of a binding resolution on Syria

Members of the United Nations Security Council have reportedly inched closer to the details of a binding resolution on Syria, Western diplomats said Wednesday, though Russia denied that a consensus had been reached.

Representatives of the permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — met for lunch on Wednesday with Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, to discuss the crisis in Syria.

Two diplomats said they had reached a consensus on the broad elements, including “a reference” to sanctions should Syria not comply with its obligations. They said the resolution would also include language to hold accountable the perpetrators of a chemical attack in August, though it was not likely to include language compelling a referral to the International Criminal Court.

“We’re close, we’re quite close,” one of the diplomats said. “It will be very clear what Syria needs to do.”

Russia and the United States have clashed over whether the resolution would fall under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which would authorize the Security Council to enforce it with sanctions or even military force.

The language on the table now, the diplomats said, proposes to include a “reference” to Chapter VII if Syria does not comply. But to impose sanctions or authorize military intervention would require yet another Security Council resolution.

“It’s close to an agreed text,” said a second diplomat. “There’s still some details to be worked out.” Reuters quoted a spokesman for the Russian mission at the United Nations as saying that the parties had not yet reached an agreement on Syria and that it was “wishful thinking.”

The secretary general’s office said the foreign ministers also discussed how quickly they could schedule a peace conference to be held in Geneva.