JOIN US As their UN Security Council veto on Syria invited bitter criticism, both Russia and China shot back on Sunday contending that the half-baked resolution would have only sent an “unbalanced signal” to the feuding parties rather than help resolve the crisis.
Both Russia and China had stuck to their ally Bashar al-Assad in vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian regime’s deadly crackdown.
Defending their action, Moscow and Beijing said the draft of the resolution needed more work. “The authors of the draft Syria resolution, unfortunately, did not want to undertake an extra effort and come to a consensus... The result is known,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov wrote on Twitter in his comments on the issue.
Chinese UN ambassador Li Baodong said pushing through such “a vote when parties are still seriously divided ... will not help maintain the unity and authority of the Security Council, or help resolve the issue.”
In a commentary, China’s official news agency Xinhua said the veto was aimed at preventing more “turbulence and fatalities” in the violence-hit state. It said the veto “was aimed at further seeking peaceful settlement of the chronic Syrian crisis.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep regret, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the veto would encourage further crackdowns by the Syrian regime.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Russia and China had “sided with the Syrian regime and its brutal suppression” in their own national interests.