Deadlock over Syria

US and Russia fail to agree on key UN resolutions after attack

RIVAL US and Russian resolutions to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria suffered defeats at the United Nations on Tuesday, a result the Russian ambassador said the Trump administration wanted so it could “justify the use of force against Syria”.

The Security Council also rejected another Russiandrafted resolution that would have welcomed an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of allegations of a weekend chemical attack in the suburbs of Syria’s capital.

The US, Britain and France opposed the measure, saying the investigators were already headed there and that the text didn’t include a new way to assess blame for chemical attacks.

The council has met four times in the past week on chemical weapons in Syria, with the US, Britain and France facing off against Russia, Syrian President Bashar alAssad’s key ally that insists no chemical attack took place in the Douma suburb.

As tensions escalate over possible US-led military reprisals for the suspected attack, the UN’s most powerful body remained paralysed, unable to overcome deep divisions that have shown during the seven years of conflict in Syria.

Sweden’s ambassador, Olof Skoog, who tried unsuccessfully to find a compromise solution, told the council after the third vote that he was disappointed.

“I just hope that we do not consider this the end when it comes to ensuring ... there is a true accountability and no more impunity for the horrendous use of chemical weapons in Syria,” Mr Skoog said.

After the defeat of Russia’s second resolution, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said to US Ambassador Nikki Haley: “I would once again ask you, once again beseech you, to refrain from the plans that you’re currently developing for Syria.”