Russia vetoes US extension of UN Syria chemical weapons probe

New York (dpa) - Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution proposed by the United States to extend the mandate of the UN's investigative team into chemical attacks in Syria on Thursday.

Russia then put up its own version for a vote, which was swiftly rejected with only four votes in favour - too little support to warrant a veto.

Russia submitted and then withdrew its own rival proposal during Thursday's meeting after the other members of the council refused to allow its draft to be voted on second. Bolivia then asked for a vote to be held on Russia's draft after all.

The veto "killed" the Joint Investigative Mechanism, the Hague-based collaborative team of investigators from the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said.

"Russia has invented reasons not to support a mechanism it helped to create because it didn't like its scientific conclusions," Haley said. "Russia has killed the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) which has the overwhelming support of this council."

"Russia thinks the JIM works great when it finds ISIS at fault for chemical weapons, but when it is one of their friends who is the perpetrator the problem is suddenly the JIM and not their friend who committed the crime."

Russia rejected the US attempt and put forward its own draft "in the interest of raising efficiency," UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after the meeting.

Russia has cast doubt on the most recent JIM report, which placed the blame for the April 2017 sarin gas attack in Khan Sheikhoun at the feet of the Syrian government.

He reiterated that the latest JIM report on Khan Sheikhoun was "a joke - it's nonsense, complete nonsense."

"I’m not a specialist but even myself, I saw so many deficiencies, flaws and gaps in the report that you cannot ignore," he said.

This is the tenth time Russia has used its veto power on the Security Council to block a resolution on Syria.

Bolivia also voted against the draft. China and Egypt abstained.

Moscow vetoed a previous attempt to renew the investigative mechanism last month, reasoning that the council should wait until the release of the Khan Sheikhoun report.

It is unclear whether the task force will now be disbanded or if there is a possibility for a temporary roll-over to give the Security Council more time to reach an agreement.

There was some disagreement in the council as to whether the mandate was due to expire at midnight on Thursday or Friday, as the documentation specifies only November 17.

Security Council President Sebastiano Cardi of Italy told reporters after the meeting it was irrelevant as the decision can still be made after the expiration.

Ahead of the vote, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "Need all on the UN Security Council to vote to renew the Joint Investigative Mechanism for Syria to ensure that Assad regime does not commit mass murder with chemical weapons ever again."