Russia and China veto sanctions against Syria, drawing condemnation from US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
Russia and China vetoed new efforts on the part of other members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council to sanction Syria for its reported use of chemical weapons during the country’s six-year civil war.
Predictably, the move drew condemnation from US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.
“They turned away from defenseless men, women and children who died gasping for breath when Assad’s forces dropped their poisonous gas,” said Haley. “They put their friends in the Assad regime ahead of our global security.”
“When members start making excuses for other member states killing their own people, the world is definitely a more dangerous place,” she added.
The ambassadors of both Russia and China countered Ambassador Haley stating the resolution was brought for a vote despite the lack of unanimity among Security Council members. Their counter attack alludes to a lack of consensus by a joint UN inquiry with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) regarding chemical weapon use by the Syrian army.
“It was forced through to a vote while Council members still have differences,” said China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi. “This is in no way helpful to finding a solution.”
“Today’s clash or confrontation is not a result of our negative vote,” said Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov. “It is a result of the fact that you decided on provocation, while you knew well ahead of time our position.”
Shortly before the vote, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin made it clear his country would oppose sanctions against Syria, calling them “inappropriate.”
By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News