Russia on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution condemning the chemical attack on civilians in northwest Syria.
Of the 15 council members, 10 voted in favor. Bolivia and the council’s veto-wielding power Russia voted against. China, Ethiopia, and Kazakhstan abstained.
Photo taken on April 12, 2017 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a draft resolution at the UN headquarters in New York. /Xinhua Photo
The document drafted by the United Kingdom, France and the United States demanded that the Syrian military provide UN investigators with unfettered access to details of their operations on the day of the alleged attack.
The text also condemned the reported use of chemical weapons and demanded a speedy investigation.
An unconscious Syrian child receives treatment at a hospital in Khan Sheikhun, a rebel-held town in the northwestern Syrian Idlib Province, following a suspected toxic gas attack on April 4, 2017. /AFP Photo
The toxic gas attack on April 4 prompted the United States to launch missile strikes on a Syrian air base and widened a rift between Washington and Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that trust had eroded between the two countries.
After meetings with Russian officials in Moscow, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said bilateral ties were at a low point, with levels of distrust on the rise. Tillerson called for Assad to eventually relinquish power.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley arrives at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US, on April 12, 2017. /Reuters Photo
US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, called on Moscow to stop protecting Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and said the United States wanted to work with Russia toward a political solution for Syria.
"Russia once again has chosen to side with Assad, even as the rest of the world, including the Arab world, overwhelmingly comes together to condemn this murderous regime," Haley told the 15-member Security Council.
"If the regime is innocent, as Russia claims, the information requested in this resolution would have vindicated them."
Bashar Ja'afari (L), Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations, talks with Vladimir Safronkov, Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, prior to voting on a draft Security Council resolution at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2017. /Xinhua Photo
Russia's deputy UN envoy, Vladimir Safronkov, said the draft resolution laid blame prior to an independent investigation.
"I'm amazed that this was the conclusion. No one has yet visited the site of the crime. How do you know that?" he said.
He said the US attack on the Syrian air base "was carried out in violation of international norms."
Liu Jieyi (C, front), China's permanent representative to the UN, votes to abstain on a draft Security Council resolution at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 12, 2017. /Xinhua PhotoInput Words
China's Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi said China supports the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in conducting a comprehensive, objective and impartial investigation into relevant cases.
Liu said China supports the language in the text that condemns the use of chemical weapons and demands an investigation into the alleged chemical attack.
However, he said some elements of the text need to be amended to secure consensus among council members.
"We deeply regret the failure to reach such consensus on the draft resolution," he noted.
Liu said a political settlement in Syria should be pursued, with the United Nations as the main mediator.
US President Donald Trump seemed to welcome China's position, stating in the White House's East Room that "I think it's wonderful that they abstained. As you know, very few people expected that."
(Source: Xinhua, Reuters)
Related Stories:
11001km
