White House: China Abstained From UN Vote on Syria Thanks to Trump-Xi Meeting

A White House official said on Wednesday that China abstained from the UN Security Council vote on Syrian resolution partially because of the new relations that the leaders of both the United States and China forged last week.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — China’s abstention in the UN Security Council vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution concerning the chemical attacks in Syria’s Idlib province came in part because of the relationship US President Donald Trump forged with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, a senior White House official said according to a press pool report.

"The official credited China’s abstention to the summit where [Trump] forged an important relationship with Xi," the pool report stated.

The official noted that Xi meet with Trump’s grandchildren during his visit to the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on April 6-7, which had a big impact on developing a good relationship between the two leaders.

The official added that China’s decision to abstain from voting in the UN Security Council indicates the government of Syrian president Bashar Assad has been isolated internationally.

Russia and Bolivia voted against the draft resolution while China, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan abstained from the vote.