MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Two draft resolutions — one from France and Spain, and the other from Russia — were defeated in the UN Security Council on Saturday after the first one was blocked by Moscow and the second one failed to gain the minimum votes needed for approval.
"The French draft resolution is unrealistic and non-constructive. It is the same old idea to get rid of Assad through supporting the so-called moderate opposition that in fact consists of terrorist groups. That type of policy [is] aimed at eliminating efforts of any true moderate political opponents to Assad inside of legal Syria," Dhuicq said.
The draft submitted by Russia also urged a ceasefire but made no mention of halting anti-terrorist strikes in Aleppo. Russia claimed that the French-drafted resolution would help terrorists in the Aleppo area by protecting them from aerial bombing.
Due to this, on Sunday, French President Francois Hollande expressed doubts about how "useful" it would be to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin during his visit to Paris, scheduled for October 19. However, the Kremlin said preparations for Putin's visit were currently continuing.
Aleppo has been the center of conflict between Syrian government forces, jihadists, and numerous militant groups, including Jaish al-Islam, Ahrar ash-Sham and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia. Fighting in Aleppo intensified after the Syrian army declared an end to the week-long ceasefire on September 23, blaming militants for numerous violations that made the cessation of hostilities unreasonable.
