Beijing expresses regret over failure to reach consensus in UN

China has made arduous efforts to push forward consensus on the Syria chemical weapon issue at the United Nations Security Council and regrets that the attempts have not yet paid off, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry’s spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks at a daily news conference.

Russia on Wednesday vetoed a Western draft resolution on an alleged chemical attack in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. Among 15 council members, 10 voted in favor; Bolivia and the council’s veto-wielding power Russia voted against; China, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan abstained.

China abstained on the Security Council draft resolution as “some content can be amended to reach consensus”, Lu said.

China’s Ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi specified China’s stance after the vote. He said China supports the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in conducting a comprehensive, objective and impartial investigation into relevant cases.

Liu said China supports the language in the text that condemns the use of chemical weapons and demands an investigation into the alleged chemical attack.

However, he said some elements of the text need to be amended to secure consensus among council members and therefore China abstained.

“We deeply regret the failure to reach such consensus on the draft resolution,” he said.

Liu also called upon relevant parties to stay on the course for