The Syrian National Coalition said that Russia and China’s vetoing of the draft UN Security Council resolution that was proposed by Belgium, Kuwaiti and Germany calling for a truce and the protection of civilians in Idlib represents “continuation of the Russian-Chinese covering of the Assad regime’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Coalition said that “this repeated step must be condemned, especially as it comes in the context of Russia’s direct military support to the regime and its active participation in the bombing of civilians and the war crimes against the Syrian people as well as its interference in Syria’s affairs amounting to direct occupation of the country.”
“The use of the veto by the sponsors of the murderous regime should not absolve the international community of its responsibility towards the tragedy of the Syrian people, whether with regard to the ongoing war crimes, the humanitarian catastrophe, the issue of detainees and refugees, and the dozens of other outstanding issues,” the Coalition added.
The Coalition went on to say that “there is no room for comparison between the draft resolutions that were blocked by the Russian-Chinese veto disrupting the will of the international community and those put forward by the Assad regime’s allies in the UN Security Council and which were all rejected by a majority of votes.”
The Coalition called on the major actors to shoulder their responsibilities by working collectively to establish an international mechanism that is capable of putting an end to the killings and crimes against the Syrian people and create the suitable conditions for a political solution in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2254.
Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a draft resolution submitted by Kuwait, Germany and Belgium calling for a truce in Idlib province, allowing humanitarian access and medical evacuations, and urging against the besiegement of residential areas. This is the 13th time Russia cast the veto on the UN Security Council in support of the Assad regime and to prevent any condemnation of Assad since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
