French president slams Russia’s ‘systematic’ UN vetoes

PARIS

Russia’s “systematic blockage” at the UN Security Council since the civil war began in 2011 supports the destructive activities of the Assad regime against the civilian population, French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday.

According to French President Hollande’s official statement, he argued that Russia’s vetoes in connection with Syria at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was harming civilians.

"Russia's systematic obstruction bolsters the regime of Bashar al-Assad in its destructive drive which is harming the defenseless civilian population,” Hollande said in a statement after a weekly Defense and National Security Council meeting.

Hollande’s criticism came just two days after the failure of a resolution calling for a seven-day cease-fire in the Syrian war-torn city of Aleppo.

Russia vetoed French-backed measure on Monday in New York, the sixth time it has blocked a council resolution on Syria since the conflict began in March 2011. China also vetoed it.

The plan to hold up a seven-day cessation of hostilities fell by the wayside after the two of the five permanent members of the Council, as well as a non-permanent member, Venezuela, voted to shoot down the bill. The other permanent members include France, U.K. and the U.S.

The resolution needed nine out of the 15 Council votes and the non-rejection of all five permanent members.

A similar seven-day truce in September ended catastrophically after a UN aid convoy was bombed before reaching Aleppo to deliver aid.

Aleppo, pre-war Syria's second largest city, is left in utter ruin, with hundreds of thousands of civilian residents trapped in the crossfire between indiscriminate Russian and Syrian airstrikes and Daesh terrorism.

*Reporting by Omer Aydin and Hajer M'tiri; Writing by Hatice Kesgin