US blasts China, Russia for vetoing UNSC resolution on Syria

India, a non-permanent member of the UNSC, had abstained from the vote.

Washington: Slamming Russia and China for
vetoing a UNSC resolution against Syria over its crackdown on
anti-regime protesters, the US has said the countries, which
were on the "wrong side" of history, would have to take
responsibility for their decision.

"Countries have to take responsibility for the decision
that they made yesterday and any implications it might have on
the ground in Syria," State Department spokesperson Victoria
Nuland told reporters when asked about the veto by Russia and
China at the UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria.

India, a non-permanent member of the UNSC, had abstained
from the vote.

The State Department spokesperson said: "We had nine
votes, which was enough for passage. It was the vetoes that
killed these resolutions."

Nuland`s remarks came when a reporter said "it wasn`t
just the Russians and the Chinese who voted no, there were
four countries that abstained, including the world`s largest
democracy... Are there consequences for countries that
abstained?"

"I`m not going to speak to the abstentions," Nuland
responded again when asked about India`s stand on Syria.

But she was tough on Russia and China. "We obviously
consider that the Security Council failed yesterday to address
the urgent moral challenge and the growing threat to
international peace and security caused by the Syrian regime`s
brutality.

"We firmly believe that history will bear out which
nations were right and which were on the wrong side in this
vote yesterday," Nuland said.

"The Syrian Government may well be crowing, but I would
call your attention to what`s happening on the Syrian
opposition websites and blogs, where there is enormous outrage
and anger and disappointment, particularly directed at the
vetoing countries," she said.

"I saw this morning a gruesome cartoon that had been up
on one of the Syrian websites with two spigots, looked like
oil spigots, with blood dripping from them with the names of
those countries plastered on them," Nuland said.

So clearly, she said, the brave and largely peaceful
Syrian opposition that has been standing up to abuse and
bullets and torture and arrest day after day in cities across
Syria has "been severely let down by this vote."

"It doesn`t change the fact that the US will continue to
work with as many countries as we can to increase the pressure
on the Syrian regime. You know that we have cut off our
relationship completely on the economic front; we have called
for (President Bashar al-)Asad to step aside," she said.

The European Union, Nuland noted, has completely cut its
oil and economic relationship with Syria. "We understand that
the Government of Turkey you may have seen press reports
from them today are considering increasing the pressure on
the Assad regime."

"We do believe that, despite this vote yesterday, the
number of countries that is prepared to tighten the noose on
the regime continues to grow and will grow, and we will work
with them," she said.

"I`m not going to characterise where we were in our
negotiation, except to say that we had been working on this
for weeks and weeks and weeks, and we had gone along with a
significant weakening of the resolution," she said.

"I mean, the text that we supported yesterday was far
weaker than we would have liked. It didn`t include the teeth
of sanctions, and even that proved to be too much. So that was
extremely disappointing," she said.

PTI

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