Russia casts 10th U.N. veto on Syria action, blocking inquiry renewal

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday cast its 10th veto of United Nations Security Council action on Syria since the war began in 2011, blocking a U.S.-drafted resolution to renew an international inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Representatives of Russia and Bolivia vote in the United Nations (UN) Security Council on a bid to renew an international inquiry into chemical weapons attacks in Syria during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, U.S., November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

The mandate for the joint inquiry by the U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which found the Syrian government used the banned nerve agent sarin in an April 4 attack, expires on Friday.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Russia, Britain or China to be adopted. The U.S. draft text received 11 votes in favor, while Russia and Bolivia voted against it and China and Egypt abstained.

The vote sparked a war of words between Russia and the United States in the council, just hours after White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump believed he could work with Russian President Vladimir Putin on issues like Syria.

The April 4 sarin attack on Khan Sheikhoun that killed dozens of people prompted the United States to launch missiles on a Syrian air base. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley warned after the council vote on Thursday: “We will do it again if we must.”

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the U.S. draft resolution was not balanced.

“We need a robust, professional mechanism that will help to prevent the proliferation of the threat of chemical terrorism in the region and you need a puppet-like structure to manipulate public opinion,” Nebenzia said.

RUSSIAN BID FAILS

Syrian ally Russia withdrew its own rival draft resolution to renew the inquiry, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), after unsuccessfully pushing for its proposal to be considered second and not first, as council rules required.

However, following the vote on the U.S. draft, Bolivia then requested a vote on the Russian text. It failed, receiving only four votes in favor, seven against and four abstentions.

Nebenzia said he was “deeply disappointed” and that those who voted against the Russian draft “bear the full brunt of responsibility for the cessation of operation of the JIM.”

After the meeting ended Japan circulated a draft resolution to roll over the mandate for the inquiry for one month, diplomats said. It was not immediately clear when the council could vote.