And why they vetoed it:As international anger grows over reports of mass carnage at the hands of the Syrian regime, a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning Syria failed to be adopted Saturday after veto-wielding members Russia and China voted against it.
Ambassadors from the other permanent members of the council -- the United States, France, and the United Kingdom -- said they were furious at Russia and China for failing to halt the worsening, bloody violence that has consumed the Middle Eastern nation.
Thirteen Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution.
The vote was a major diplomatic setback for countries hoping to send a unified message to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and also for opposition groups that look toward the United Nations for support.
"Those that have blocked potentially the last effort to resolve this peacefully ... will have any future blood spill on their hands," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told CNN. "The people of Syria have yet again been abandoned by this Council and by the international community."
Some Syrians have cried out for international action to stop attacks on civilians, more so after opposition groups said at least 321 civilians were killed and hundreds wounded in the city of Homs in the past two days.
The opposition Syrian National Council blamed government forces for the attack in Homs, calling it one of the most "horrific massacres" since the start of the Syrian uprising. Residential buildings and homes were "randomly and heavily bombed," the group said.
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a Syrian opposition group, said 90 people had been killed in Syria on Saturday, including 61 in Homs, 10 in Idlib, and 19 in a Damascus suburb. In a bid to pressure the government, the group called for a two-day civil strike to start on Sunday.
Another opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that 48 people were killed across Syria on Saturday, including six army defectors and 18 members of the Syrian security forces.
CNN cannot independently confirm opposition or government reports from Syria because the government has restricted journalists' access to the country.
Some residents accused the international community of sitting idle as bodies mount in the streets, and predicted worsening violence in the wake of the vote.
"We've been expected the U.N. to help us ... and they just left us like this," said an activist identified as Danny. "Now this regime is going to hit us harder."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/05/world/mea ... =obnetwork
Pretty disappointing, though not entirely unexpected.(CNN) -- As international leaders express outrage over mass killings in Syria -- and lament the inability to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution denouncing the Syrian regime -- questions linger about the two countries behind the impasse.
On Saturday, China and Russia vetoed a draft resolution that would have demanded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stop the killing and answer calls aimed at finding a Syrian-led solution to the 11-month crisis.
Analysts say both China and Russia have their reasons to maintain good relations with Syria.
Russia is one of Syria's biggest arms suppliers. And China ranked as Syria's third-largest importer in 2010, according to data from the European Commission.
Arab League reaction to U.N. veto "Beijing's renewed interest in Damascus—the traditional terminus node of the ancient Silk Road ... indicates that China sees Syria as an important trading hub," according to a 2010 report from The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based research and analysis institute.
Even as reports mounted that the Syrian government was killing protesters en masse, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement in August noting the "steady development" of friendly relations "over the past 50 years and more."
"China and Syria gave each other understanding and support on issues concerning each other's core and major interests," the statement said. "China showed consistent understanding and firm support for Syria's position on the Golan Heights while Syria remained committed to the one China position and rendered China staunch support on matters related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and human rights."
Last week, China's permanent representative to the United Nations said the killing of innocent civilians must stop, but also said he is against "pushing through" a regime change.
An earlier version of the U.N. Security Council draft resolution called for al-Assad to step down and delegate his powers to his deputy, but that element was not in the draft voted on by members Saturday.
"China is of the view that the Syrian people's request for reform and safeguard of their interests should be respected," Li Baodong said Tuesday, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. "It is imperative to put an immediate end to all violence in Syria and oppose and stop the killing of innocent civilians.
"At the same time, an inclusive political process with a wide participation of all Syrian parties must be started without delay to speed up reform and resolve differences and disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultations," he said.
Russia also has an economic interest in Syria.
The total value of Syrian contracts with the Russian defense industry likely exceeds $4 billion, according to Jeffrey Mankoff, an adjunct fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Russia and Eurasia Program.
He noted the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated the value of Russian arms sales to Syria at $162 million per year in both 2009 and 2010.
Moscow also signed a $550 million deal with Syria for combat training jets.
Russia also leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus, giving the Russian navy its only direct access to the Mediterranean, Mankoff said.
As Western leaders sought to pry al-Assad from power, Moscow sent an aircraft-carrying missile cruiser to Syrian waters in a show of support last month and shipped Syrian troops a consignment of Yakhont cruise missiles, according to Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Speaking after the Saturday vote, ambassadors from both Russia and China said they do support an end to the violence but felt the resolution did not address the crisis properly.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the text "did not adequately reflect the real state of affairs and sent an unbalanced signal" to the various sides in Syria. He noted that the minister for foreign affairs will visit Damascus to hold a meeting with al-Assad this week.
Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong called on all parties in Syria to restore order as soon as possible. But he said the text would have served only to "complicate the issue" and would "prejudge the result of dialogue."
China and Russia vetoed another Security Council resolution in October that would have called for an immediate halt to the crackdown, which United Nations officials have said resulted in an estimated 6,000 deaths since protests began nearly a year ago.
With the Security Council failing to approve a resolution, what happens next is unclear.
But as the diplomatic stalemate continues, the death toll in Syria climbs even higher. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists that organizes and documents protests, said the violence has killed more than 7,300.
