Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution on Wednesday condemning a chemical weapons attack in Syria, which the West blames on Bashar al-Assad, for the eighth time in a row. of the UN against its Syrian ally.
The draft decision, drawn up by the United States, France and the United Kingdom, was aimed at responding to an attack believed to have been carried out with the neurotoxic sarin gas in the Syrian community of Khan Seihun on April 4, killing 87 people. including 31 children.
Of the XNUMX SA member states, Bolivia also voted against the decision, ten in favor and three abstentions (China, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia).
Russian diplomacy used its veto as a permanent member of the Council when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke during his official visit to Moscow about a "low level of trust" between the United States and Russia. .
"With this veto, Russia is saying 'no' to accountability, 'no' to cooperating with an independent UN inquiry," said Nicky Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations.
"To Assad and the Syrian government (…) The era of your arrogance and contempt for humanity is over (…) I suggest you watch this vote very carefully and heed this warning," she added.
Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov, told the Security Council that the draft resolution was "condemned" from the outset.
"The result was predetermined because we were constantly expressing our categorical disagreement with the content of this document," he added.
The draft decision offered the Council's support to the researchers of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The text also required Syrian authorities to provide details of Syrian army operations on the day of the attack, the names of the commanders of the Air Force units they attempted, and to grant investigators access to air bases, according to a French Agency report. News broadcast by the corresponding Athenian.
According to Ambassador Safronkov, Russia had suggested that the United States send a joint request to the UN Security Council to deploy an assessment mission to Khan Seihun and Al Sairat air base in the central province of Homs, from where Washington believes the attack was launched.
France and Britain strongly criticized the Russian veto
French President Francois Hollande has said Russia has "grave responsibilities" for exercising its veto power over the United States, accusing Moscow of "systematically" protecting "Assad's ally".
Russia is now on the "bad side of this debate," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in a statement issued in London.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Moscow that the OECD, which is already in Syria, should be instructed to conduct its work impartially.
"We insist that there should be an" objective investigation into what happened on April 4th, "he added.
Russia has submitted to the Security Council its own draft resolution condemning the US military strike in Syria and calling for an OAGO investigation. The possibility of a vote on the Russian text does not seem very likely.
Source: Newsbeast