For the first time since the nearly five-year-old Syrian civil war began, world powers agreed on Friday at the United Nations Security Council to embrace a plan for a cease-fire and a peace process that holds the distant prospect of ending the conflict. The resolution makes no mention of whether Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, would be able to run in new elections, which it says must be held within 18 months of the beginning of political talks.

American support for a pair of diplomatic initiatives in Syria underscores the shifting views of how to end the civil war there and the West s quiet retreat from its demand that the country s president, Bashar al-Assad, step down immediately. The Obama administration maintains that a lasting political solution requires Mr. Assad s exit. But facing military stalemate, well-armed jihadists and the world s worst humanitarian crisis, the United States is going along with international diplomatic efforts that could lead to more gradual change in Syria.