Najib Ghadbian, the Syrian National Coalition’s special representative to the United Nations, condemned Russia’s veto of a draft Security Council resolution which called for a seven-day cease-fire in Aleppo so that humanitarian aid could reach the city’s besieged eastern neighborhoods.
The United Nations Security Council on Monday failed to pass the resolution drafted by member states New Zealand, Spain and Egypt.
Ghadhbian said that the Russian veto was not surprising as Moscow has aided and abetted the Assad regime in its war crimes across Syria over the past five years, adding that the move was a new attempt to shield the Syrian government from justice and to enable it to carry on with its genocidal onslaught on Aleppo.
The opposition figure criticized the failure of the U.N. Security Council to save lives in Syria, stressing that it is now up to member states to stop the massacres being committed by the Assad regime through the imposition of a no-fly zone and the launch of humanitarian airdrops to Aleppo.
Human Rights Watch also condemned the veto with its U.N. director, Louis Charbonneau, stating on Monday: "Countries on and off the Security Council should immediately work to convene an emergency special session of the General Assembly to explore, among other things, ways to hold perpetrators of serious crimes in Syria to account.”
"Russia seems to not want any interference with its and Iran's joint military ops with Syrian military in Aleppo, despite cost to civilians," Charbonneau added.
This is the sixth time Russia has used its veto power in the U.N. Security Council on Syria since 2011.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
