Russia vetoes UN resolution on Syria

International Desk: The UN Security Council failed Wednesday to so much as condemn last week's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of people in Syria.

Russia vetoed a UN resolution condemning the killings, believed to have been carried out with sarin gas, and calling on Moscow ally Syria to cooperate with an international investigation of events on the ground.

It was the eighth Russian veto of a resolution on Syria throughout the course of its civil war.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the council that "with its veto, Russia said no to accountability, Russia said no to cooperating with the UN investigation, Russia said no to helping keep peace in Syria, Russia chose to side with (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad, even as rest of the world, even the Arab world, comes together to condemn the murderous regime."

It was the latest sharp split between the US and Russia over the incident, which has deepened antagonism between the two countries in the wake of the attack. Moscow has strongly objected to a US strike against the Syrian air base the West believes the sarin attack was launched from.

Russia vetoed the measure just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson huddled with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours in Moscow. Diplomats said Russia came close to proposing its own resolution, which would have included language condemning the US missile strikes in Syria last Thursday.

China, which has also vetoed several resolutions in the past along with Russia, abstained on this one -- a move welcomed by President Donald Trump at a White House news conference. The Chinese UN ambassador later said it was regrettable that agreement could not be reached. Bolivia also voted no, but the South American country does not have veto power like Russia.

Source: Agencies
 

risingbd/Dhaka/April 13, 2017/A K Azad