Russia and China Veto UN Security Council Resolution to Sanction Syria

Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to sanction Bashar al-Assad's government, marking the seventh time Moscow has nullified the votes of other Security Council members in support of Damascus during the six-year Syrian war. Reuters reported that during the voting on Tuesday, March 1, China also supported Moscow's position, thus vetoing the UN resolution against Damascus for the sixth time. The draft resolution was prepared by France and the UK, which accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in the country's civil war, but Russia stated that the resolution would harm ongoing negotiations between the warring parties in Syria. Peace talks for Syria began on Thursday with UN mediation in Geneva, while fighting continues in various parts of the country, with multiple reports of ongoing violence and ceasefire violations. The report states that 9 Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, Bolivia voted against it, and Ethiopia, Egypt, and Kazakhstan abstained. The resolution needed 9 votes for approval but also required that none of the five countries—the United States, France, the UK, Russia, and China—vote against it. If approved, 11 Syrian officials and 10 entities would have been sanctioned. The Human Rights Watch reported late last year that the Syrian army had used helicopters to drop chlorine gas in residential areas of Aleppo at least eight times during the city’s recapture. The Assad government had previously been accused of using chemical weapons in the civil war. In this context, the Security Council votes on a resolution against the Syrian government amid chaotic conditions in Syria, with warnings about the impact of violence on Geneva negotiations. The US Secretary of Defense presented a plan to combat ISIS to the White House, while the situation in Iran is also evolving with significant implications for the region.