In November, Russia blocked the renewal of the independent panel investigating chemical weapons in Syria, and British Ambassador Karen Pierce reminded the council that Tuesday’s vote marked Russia’s sixth veto related to chemical weapons in Syria.
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Prior to vetoing the USA draft, Nebenzia said that by putting the resolution forward for a vote “the delegation of the United States is once again trying to mislead the global community and making yet one more step toward confrontation”.
Shortly afterward, Russian Federation lost its own attempt to set up an inquiry after its own draft resolution only received six votes in favour.
The clash between both powers was reflected in the two draft resolutions on the form of investigating the alleged incident.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Trump condemned the “heinous attack” Saturday that killed at least 40 people, including children.
But the Russian the ambassador to the U.N., Vassily Nebenzia, said the chemical attack was staged and warned that any US military response in Syria would have “grave repercussions”.
Trump on Tuesday canceled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said.
The prime minister has agreed with her United States and French counterparts that the worldwide community must respond to an alleged chemical attack in Syria. Those at the meeting included Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford.
The US is also working on building a larger coalition.
All eyes are on President Trump as he makes a decision on what to do about Syria. “I think [they] need to be there until it’s very obvious that they shouldn’t be there or that they don’t need to be there anymore”.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced from Paris his “readiness to work with allies on any military response in Syria if needed”.
“Our position is that those responsible have to be held accountable and brought to justice”, said Mr Al Jubeir.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister spoke to the United States and French presidents on Tuesday, and they agreed to “continue working closely together” to ensure those responsible were “held to account”. Even if the U.S. project was adopted, it would take months to implement, the diplomat said, adding that the draft was a “provocative step” that had “nothing to do with the desire to investigate the Douma incident”. It was not immediately clear whether the announcement by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons would delay or avert US military action against Syria. He said: “We have a lot of options militarily, and we’ll be letting you know pretty soon”. Mr Trump is expected to decide his course of action by Wednesday morning local time.
That attack prompted the USA to launch several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base.
October 8, 2016: Russian Federation alone vetoes a text proposed by France and Spain to halt the bombing of Aleppo, after presenting a rival draft that urged a cease-fire but made no mention of barring military flights over the city. “But to me, there’s not much of a doubt, but the generals will figure it out probably over the next 24 hours”. Israel does not typically comment on its operations in Syria, and it is unclear whether the missile attack was linked to the alleged use of chemical weapons.
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“If this is the responsibility of Assad’s regime in Syria then it’s yet another example of the brutality and brazen disregard for their people that they show”.
