Russia will veto if UN votes to impose sanctions on Syria
Russia will use their veto right if the UN Security Council decides to approve a resolution on sanctions against Syria for the use of chemical weapons during the conflict.
On Friday, the US Permanent Representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that "it is time to consider the resolution."
Meanwhile, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, Vladimir Safronkov, voiced the opinion that the draft resolution "prejudges the outcome of the investigation in advance," which is being carried out by experts from the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
According to him, "huge pressure is being exerted on the UN Commission to obtain a one-sided result of the investigation."
The draft resolution proposed by Britain and France provides for a ban on the supply of helicopters to Syrian authorities, as well as military and government agencies of the country.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch said that in late 2016 the army of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons in the battle for Aleppo at least eight times. Human rights activists referred to the witness accounts as well as videos and photos on social networks.
On January 13th Reuters reported that the UN suspected Bashar al-Assad and his brother in the involvement of the use of chlorine in 2014-2015.
Meanwhile Russia noted that there is no evidence of the involvement of the Syrian army in the use chemical weapons yet.