Russia, China Veto UN Resolution on Syria

[FarCenter]

Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Syria that calls on President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Thirteen of the council’s 15 members voted in favor of the resolution aimed to stop the violence in Syria.

“The draft resolution that was put to a vote did not reflect Syria’s realities well enough and sent conflicting signals to the political forces in Syria,” Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said after the vote.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously said the resolution did not set enough demands on anti-government armed groups, and that Russia was concerned it could jeopardize the national dialogue among political forces in Syria.

Lavrov said earlier on Saturday he and Foreign Intelligence Service head Mikhail Fradkov will visit Syria and meet with President al-Assad on February 7.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120204/171146455.html