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7825th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Middle East; Syria
Following vetoes wielded by China and the Russian Federation, the Security Council today failed to adopt a draft resolution that would have had all parties in Syria end attacks on the city of Aleppo within 24 hours. The proposed cessation of hostilities would have lasted at least one week and would have demanded immediate safe access to all areas for humanitarian assistance.
By 11 votes in favour of the draft resolution to 3 against (China, Russian Federation, Venezuela), with 1 abstention (Angola), the Council rejected a text that would have barred “any and all attacks” in Aleppo, while demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout the country, except where operations were ongoing against groups it deemed terrorists. The Council would have considered further seven-day extensions to the Aleppo ceasefire on a recurring basis.
Before the action, the Russian Federation’s representative said that Western members had rushed the vote, in violation of Council procedures, and ignored progress in negotiations between his country and the United States on the withdrawal of fighters from Aleppo and on humanitarian relief. A ceasefire would only allow the fighters to reinforce their positions and to prolong the conflict, he said, emphasizing that the Russian Federation wanted agreements on initiatives that would succeed in ending the suffering in Syria.
However, the representative of the United States said there was no imminent agreement and that the Russian Federation merely wanted to delay Council action to preserve its military gains and allow continued bombing.
Following the vote, supporters of the draft expressed deep disappointment in the failure to relieve the suffering of Aleppo’s people. Its sponsors — Egypt, New Zealand and Spain — emphasized the long negotiations and many compromises that had taken place in the quest for consensus. New Zealand’s representative said today’s veto demonstrated that the Russian Federation was focused on military victory despite the carnage.
Other delegates who voted against the draft called for intensified political activity to end the crisis in Syria. China’s representative urged an integrated approach to such an effort, with Council action complementing current diplomatic efforts. Venezuela’s representative said a political solution must recognize the responsibility of the Government of Syria to protect its people from terrorism.
Some delegates who voted in favour of the draft commented on certain weaknesses in the text and urged that efforts to find a solution to the suffering in Aleppo continue. Uruguay’s representative said he had voted in favour of a draft resolution that it considered inadequate in order to “at least achieve a pause in the massacre”. Japan’s representative suggested that consultations to reach a consensus on action continue immediately after the adjournment of today’s meeting.
The representative of Syria, describing the United States, France and the United Kingdom as the “three musketeers” defending terrorism, with the support of Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, asked where they had been when so-called moderate armed groups had bombed a Russian Federation field hospital in western Aleppo. The Government of Syria and its allies had upheld previous periods of calms, which terrorist groups had exploited in order to regroup and obtain more weapons and supplies so as to continue their crimes against the Syrian people, he recalled.
Also speaking today were representatives of France, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Ukraine, Angola and Senegal.
Representatives of the Russian Federation, United States, China and Venezuela took the floor more than once.
The meeting began at 2:25 p.m. and ended at 4 p.m.
Action on Draft Resolution
Several delegations delivered statements before the vote.
VITALY CHURKIN (Russian Federation) emphasized that a vote would violate the 24-hour rule since the draft resolution had only been submitted at 11:20 a.m. this morning. Noting that the United States and the Russian Federation had agreed that discussions between experts would take place on 7 December, he said timetables for withdrawing fighters were to have been discussed alongside the issue of access for humanitarian aid. However, the draft resolution made no mention of withdrawal, he said, pointing out that previous ceasefires had resulted in fighters reinforcing their positions. Efforts by the Western “P3 troika” to rush the vote would only make the situation in Aleppo worse, he stressed.
MICHELE SISSON (United States) said it was not true that the Russian Federation was on the verge of striking a deal with her country. Rather, it was focused on preserving its military gains and for that reason was delaying Security Council action, thereby allowing continued bombing with horrific consequences.
Mr. CHURKIN (Russian Federation) said that every time the Foreign Ministers of the two countries were about to reach agreement it was “toppled”, and the same thing had just happened again. Calling for consistency in the actions of the United States — part of the troika that had pushed for today’s vote — he underlined that a vote would not result in any action to help the Syrian people.
As the Council took action on the draft resolution, 11 members voted in favour to 3 against (China, Russian Federation, Venezuela), with 1 abstention. The Council thereby rejected the draft due to negative votes by China and the Russian Federation.
