Russia and China vetoed a Western-backed UN Security Council resolution Thursday that threatened Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not stop using heavy weapons against an uprising and withdraw troops from towns and cities.
It was the third time that Russia and China have used their veto power to block UN Security Council resolutions designed to put pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad and halt the violence in the 16-month conflict.
Meanwhile on Thursday, a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin said Russia has not discussed the possibility of taking in Assad.
Foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov’s remarks appeared aimed to display indifference about the fate of Assad, whom Moscow has protected from Western pressure.
In a phone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Putin did not discuss where Assad might go if he left Syria, Ushakov said.
Ushakov made it clear that Russia and the United States still disagree on how to resolve the conflict.
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