Russia, China veto U.N. sanctions
Council proposed penalties on Syrians over chemical attacks
Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Tuesday that would have imposed sanctions on 21 Syrian people and organizations linked to chemical weapons attacks in the war-torn country.
The proposal, initially sponsored by France and the United Kingdom and backed by the United States, would have banned all countries from supplying the Syrian government with helicopters. Investigators said helicopters have been used in the attacks.
“It is a sad day on the Security Council when members start making excuses for other member states killing their own people,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said. “The world is definitely a more dangerous place.”
The vetoes came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference Tuesday in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, that the draft resolution was “totally inappropriate.”
“It would undermine trust in the negotiating process. Russia will not support any new sanctions against the Syrian leadership,” said Putin, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
China’s U.N. ambassador, Liu Jieyi, said his government opposed use of chemical weapons, but any decision on sanctions should be made after investigations are completed. The veto came on the same day Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hosted Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and affirmed the importance of a constructive bilateral relationship and of regular high-level engagement.
It was the sixth time China has vetoed sanctions involving Syria; Russia has issued seven such vetoes.
Nine members of the Security Council voted in favor of the measure. But Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States have the right of veto. Bolivia joined Russia and China in voting no, and Egypt, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan abstained.
The resolution followed a joint investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that said the Syrian air force and the Islamic State had used chemical weapons during the 6-yearold civil war.
The Syrian government, which has denied using chemical weapons, agreed to destroy its chemical weapons cache in 2013 under an agreement negotiated with Russia and the United States.
The report, published in August 2016, said there was “sufficient evidence” that the air force twice attacked Syrian civilians with chlorine gas, and the Islamic State used “sulfur-mustard” gas from 2014 to 2015.
At least 450,000 Syrians have been killed and about 5 million have fled the country since the war started in 2011.
“Russia/China’s veto of UN sanctions over chemical attacks in #Syria sends a terrible message that using chemical weapons can go unpunished,” Human Rights Watch tweeted.