Syria has welcomed a Russian and Chinese veto against a French draft resolution that called for referring the Syrian file to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Russia and China have vetoed a U.N. resolution to refer the situation in Syria to the CC for possible prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country's three year civil war.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported with unhidden joy that Russia' Permanent Representative to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin described France's draft resolution as a "publicity stunt" that harms joint efforts for resolving the crisis in Syria politically.
The move on Thursday was the fourth time Russia and China have blocked U.N. Security Council action on Syria. Moscow is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powell, accused the Russians of providing diplomatic protection to the Syrian government "no matter what it does".
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