A U.A.E. diplomat in the U. S. said on Sunday that U. N. officials were urging the Security Council on Sunday to impose sanctions on Russia for its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The United States is concerned that Russia could escalate the conflict in Syria and seek to extend its reach into other nations, such as Yemen and Nigeria, the diplomat said.

“We are hearing from a range of sources that the U,N.

has been trying to get the Security council to approve some sort of new sanctions that would have the effect of making Russia the only nation who is allowed to sell arms to the Assad regime,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive U. A.E.-U.N.-related matters.

The diplomat did not specify the sanctions Russia might seek.

The U.F.N., a U.n. organization that includes Syria, has long accused Russia of arming the Assad government, which has been fighting a three-year civil war that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

Russia, a longtime ally of Syria, denies the allegations.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said Russia has sold $7 billion worth of arms to Assad’s regime since 2013.

The government denies the arms shipments and says Russia’s military support for Assad’s government is necessary to defend the country.

U.M. diplomats in Geneva said they were not aware of any new U, N. Security council sanctions on Moscow.

The council has previously called for sanctions against Syria for its backing of the Syrian government.

“The U.U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and other countries are pushing for new sanctions on Russian arms exports to Syria and are likely to be pushed to do so,” the diplomat told reporters.

“It is important to note that the United Nations is not the only member state to have been pushing for tougher sanctions.

Other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have also been pushing tougher sanctions.”