Russia vetoes UNSC action condemning Syria chemical weapons attack

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria last week and called on the government there to cooperate with an investigation into the incident. Russia, a permanent member of 15-nation Council, exercised the veto yesterday when a draft resolution drafted by France, the United Kingdom and the US was tabled here.

While 10 of the Council’s 15 members voted in favour, Russia rejected the text, as permanent member China, as well as non-permanent members Ethiopia and Kazakhstan abstained. “…With its veto, Russia said no to accountability. Russia said no to cooperation with the UN’s independent investigation. And Russia said no to a resolution that would



have helped promote peace in Syria,” US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said after the resolution was failed to be adopted.

“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,” she said. This was the 8th time during Syria’s six-year-old civil war that Moscow used its veto power to block a resolution against Assad’s government. The resolution would have strongly condemned “the reported use of chemical weapons in the [Syria], in particular the attack on Khan Shaykhun,” the site of last week’s incident that has drawn increasing global attention.