United Nations: The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Friday to discuss chemical weapons use in Syria as the United States, France and Britain pushed for sanctions on those responsible for the attacks.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said she hoped a draft sanctions resolution which has been under discussion for months could be put to a vote in the Security Council.
Russia is expected to use its veto to block the measure if it comes up for a vote. That would be the seventh time that Moscow has resorted to its veto to shield its military ally, Syria.
“We have worked with the UK and France to make sure this resolution comes on board and then we will find out which countries have an excuse for chemical weapons and which ones are really going to say this is a problem,” Haley told reporters on her way into the meeting.
British Deputy Ambassador Peter Wilson said the proposed text would be put to a vote “in the coming days.”
The draft resolution follows a joint investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which concluded in October that the Syrian military had carried out at least three chemical attacks in 2014 and 2015.
The panel also found that Islamic State jihadists had used mustard gas in an attack in 2015.
“We now have clear evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria against civilian populations and converging indications that such weapons continue to be used in this country,” said French Ambassador Francois Delattre. — AFP
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