This is Why Russia-China Joint Front Against UNSC Resolution on Aleppo 'Matters'

Russia and China have been criticized for vetoing an ill-considered draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Syrian city of Aleppo, but Jia Lieying, Dean of the School of International Relations of Beijing Language and Culture University, told Sputnik that the two countries are in fact helping to make the world more secure and peaceful.

"Russia and China's joint stance with regard to the UNSC resolution on Syria matters. Russia and China have vetoed a draft of a UNSC resolution on Syria for the fifth time since the crisis in the Arab country erupted. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently took part in a conference on China's diplomacy and international affairs. He described relations between Russia and China as a "major counterbalance upholding global stability,'" the analyst said.

Jia Lieying described relations between Moscow and Beijing as a "strategic partnership," saying that it has helped to "promote development" of both countries. More importantly, these ties have "helped to resolve global and regional challenges."

"I am convinced that the Syrian crisis will not be an exception," the analyst observed.

Last week, Egypt, Spain and New Zealand submitted a draft of a resolution on Aleppo, the embattled city that has become the key battleground in the five-and-a-half-years-long Syrian War. The document called for a seven-day ceasefire to let humanitarian aid into the city and was meant to provide an impetus to revive the peace process.

Moscow had warned that the resolution would undermine ongoing efforts to bring peace to Aleppo instead of helping and called for more consultations. Russian officials have long insisted that militants fighting against the Syrian Arab Army and its allies have used previous humanitarian pauses to regroup and rearm.

you shall not pass

© Sputnik / Vitaliy Podvitskiy

UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft criticized Russia and China, claiming that they vetoed the document "not because of a lack of consultation, but because of their long-standing, misplaced faith in a despot who has killed nearly half a million of his own people."

These remarks prompted Liu Jieyi, China's ambassador to the UN, to say that the UK envoy was "poisoning the atmosphere of the Security Council and abusing the solemn forum of the Council."

Jia Lieying called Liu Jieyi's reaction "reasonable," adding that "everything he said is true. There is also a deeper meaning behind his remarks. I hope that others will be able to see it."