China and Russia veto new UN sanctions on Syria over chemical weapons, earning US rebuke

China and Russia have vetoed new UN sanctions against Syria, and the US ambassador accused both countries of refusing to hold President Bashar Assad’s regime accountable for the use of chemical weapons.

“They put their friends in the Assad regime ahead of our global security,” new American envoy Nikki Haley told the UN Security Council after the vote on Tuesday. “They turned away from defenceless men, women and children who died gasping for breath when Assad’s forces dropped their poisonous gas.”

The Trump administration recently joined France and Britain in sponsoring the resolution, and Haley minced no words in denouncing the “outrageous and indefensible choice” that Russia and China made on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump had warm words for Russian President Vladimir Putin while campaigning but Haley has criticised Russia over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula as well as Syria.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi argued that sanctions were premature and that the UN-OPCW panel should be allowed to complete its investigations.

“At present, investigations are still ongoing and therefore it is too early to reach a final conclusion,” Liu told the council.

He added: “We oppose the use of chemical weapons by any state, any organization and any individual under any circumstance.”