Syria war: Russia and China veto UNSC sanctions (BBC News, 1 March 2017)
Russia and China have vetoed a UN resolution to impose sanctions on Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons. It is the seventh time Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to protect the Syrian government. China has also vetoed six Security Council resolutions on Syria since the civil war began in 2011. The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad is accused of carrying out chemical attacks on its own civilians – a charge it denies. However, investigations by the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog have found that Syrian government forces carried out three chemical weapons attacks in 2014 and 2015.