UNSC Fails to Pass 3 Resolutions on Syria ''Chem Аttack''

• 04.11.2018, 10:24
•  Near East,  World

The Indian Express

The Russian envoy to the UN called on the West to "refrain from plans" it might be harboring for Syria, after three consecutive resolutions to investigate the alleged recent chemical attack near Damascus failed to pass at the Security Council, RT reports.

The latest resolution to fail was a Russian-sponsored draft backing an Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission at the site of the alleged attack in Douma. The draft received five votes in favor (Russia, China, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Bolivia), four votes against (the US, the UK, France and Poland) and six abstentions, falling short of the minimum nine votes required for adoption.

The failure of an "innocuous" draft in support of an impartial investigation into the alleged chemical incident in Syria's Douma is a "litmus test which speaks volumes," Russia's UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said. The draft was based on, and "almost completely copied," an earlier proposal by Sweden. Nebenzia argued that the proposal was stonewalled simply because it ultimately came from Russia.

Nebenzia warned of the consequences that ill-conceived decisions by the West might lead to, saying that the threats towards Syria “should worry us, all of us, greatly, because we could find ourselves on the threshold of some very sad and serious events.”

The US and its allies' refusal to back the Russian proposal shows that "our Western colleagues do not need any independent investigation," Nebenzia said, reiterating Russia's calls to exercise restraint with regards to Syria.

The US, UK and France had earlier indicated they are likely to resort to military action in response to the alleged chemical incident in Douma on Saturday. The Russian envoy once again called for the West to show restraint.

''I ask you once again – refrain from the plans which you might be harboring with regards to Syria,'' he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Council rejected two rival drafts on Syria submitted by Russia and the US.