Russia, China veto UN security council resoliution on Syria

It was the third time that Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, and China have used their veto power to block U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and halt the violence in the 16-month conflict that has killed thousands of people. 

The vetoed resolution, which would have extended a U.N. observer mission in Syria for 45 days, received 11 votes in favor, with two abstentions.

The 15-member council still has time to negotiate another resolution on the fate of the unarmed mission before its initial 90-day mandate expires at midnight (0400 GMT) on Friday.

Britain, France, Germany and the United States proposed in the vetoed resolution that international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan be placed under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows the council to authorize actions ranging from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military intervention.

Western council members have said they are talking about a threat of sanctions on Syria, not military intervention. Their vetoed resolution had contained a specific threat of sanctions if Syrian authorities did not stop using heavy weapons and withdraw troops from towns and cities within 10 days.

But Russia made clear days before the vote that it would block any resolution on Syria under Chapter 7, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov describing the threat of sanctions against Syria as "blackmail."

Russia has also put forward a resolution to extend the U.N. mission for 90 days, but it does not contain a threat of sanctions.The Security Council initially approved the deployment of the U.N. observer mission, known as UNSMIS, to monitor a failed April 12 ceasefire under Annan's peace plan.

If the mission is renewed, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has recommended shifting the emphasis of the work of UNSMIS from the 300 unarmed military observers to civilian staff focusing on a political solution and issues including human rights.

UNSMIS suspended most of its monitoring activity on June 16 due to increased risk from rising violence.