Russian UN envoy blames Western "impatience" for Syria veto vote

Feb 7, 2012, 17:02 GMT

New York - Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Tuesday voiced 'regret' that he had to veto a UN Security Council resolution that would have given support to the Arab League's plan to end the bloodshed in Syria.

Churkin blamed 'impatience' by Western countries in the Security Council for the vetoes by Russia and China on Saturday, which killed the resolution. Thirteen of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the resolution.

'I regret the veto,' Churkin told reporters. 'Had we worked two or three more days, we could have made it.'

Churkin said negotiations by council members last week on the draft resolution broke up and the council was convened for a vote.

'They were carried away by emotions,' Churkin said about his Western counterparts in the council, which are the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Portugal.

'The issue here is not Russia or China, but it's how to end the fighting in Syria,' Churkin said while his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was visiting Damascus.

Churkin said the priority now is to return monitors from the Arab League.

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